Die Rap-Gang (1992)

Die Rap-Gang: Directed by Walter Hill. With Bill Paxton, Ice-T, William Sadler, Ice Cube. Two firemen in a burning building get a treasure map – stolen gold church items are hidden in a closed down factory in St. Louis. Once there, they’re trapped in by a black gang considering it their territory.

“The main focus of this movie is the set-up of various action sequences, the debating over what to do in the charactersu0026#39; situations, and – what Walter Hill has always been especially good at – the overall machismo. Most of u0026quot;Trespassu0026quot; is a drawn-out standoff between the bad guys in a remote, long-abandoned warehouse and the grossly outnumbered good guys in a tightly-sealed room with the bad leaderu0026#39;s brother as a hostage. David Fincher may have wanted to watch this movie and taken notes, since u0026quot;Panic Roomu0026quot; has got absolutely nothing on this movie. The action begins very quickly and doesnu0026#39;t let up until the fiery, casualty-counting conclusion, making the filmu0026#39;s 101min length seem like not even half that. u0026quot;Trespassu0026quot; is ripe with Hillu0026#39;s inimitable style and pace, combining with Ry Cooderu0026#39;s score and Lloyd Ahernu0026#39;s sepia-toned cinematography to create a sense of desolation and high tension for the setting.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAdd to this an excellent cast of genre and character actors for a very captivating film. Bill Paxton and William Sadler (u0026quot;Die Hard IIu0026quot;) turn in intense performances as the lone protagonists, especially Sadler whose career unfortunately never reached the level it should have. Ice-T is in one of his more effective roles as King James, the gangsta leader. Ice Cube also stands out as the upstart, rebellious follower of James, Savon; his u0026quot;king of the streetsu0026quot; speech is the monologue highlight of the movie. Art Evans (also from u0026quot;Die Hard IIu0026quot;) is perfect as the wise old angry homeless man, who reluctantly helps out Paxton and Sadler despite their initial treatment of him. And the criminal elements include noticeable performances from Deu0026#39;voreaux White as the unfortunate hostage u0026#39;Luckyu0026#39;; Tiny u0026#39;Zeusu0026#39; Lister Jr. as the musclebound henchman u0026#39;Cletusu0026#39;; and the underused Stoney Jackson as the overly-suave crony u0026#39;Wickeyu0026#39;.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis was the last of a string of box office disappointments (including u0026quot;Johnny Handsomeu0026quot; and u0026quot;Another 48 Hrs.u0026quot;) that Hollywood allowed Walter Hill to make before relegating him to the role of mainstream hack. u0026quot;Trespassu0026quot; was released with little fanfare, having its release date postponed from summertime to after Christmas as a result of the u0026#39;crisisu0026#39; that was the LA riots. Besides its original title of u0026quot;Lootersu0026quot;, u0026quot;Trespassu0026quot; also includes the recurring theme of seeing events via videocamera (which would have been a troubling reminder of the Rodney King and Reginald Denny beatings), not to mention a heavy, uncompromising racist slant not too common in modern-day action movies.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThough not Hillu0026#39;s best, it is far from his worst. A must-see for fans of stylized action. 8/10”