| 75 |
Chicago Tribune
It's good, hard-edged stuff, violent and a bit exploitative but also nicely done, morally alert and street-smart.
|
| 75 |
Miami Herald
Keith Cassidy
An intelligent crime drama, not because of the criminal activity it dramatizes but because of its powerful examination of the forces that drive criminals.
|
| 70 |
The New York Times
An unpretentious, sociologically pointed slice of life.
|
| 63 |
Baltimore Sun
Paid In Full's performances - especially by the always-engaging Phifer -- are strong, its message worthwhile and its sincerity doubtless.
|
| 63 |
New York Post
Apart from the slightly sanitized look of Reagan-era Harlem, this raw ghetto drama rings true, from the smooth dialogue to the unaffected performances of the central actors.
|
| 63 |
Chicago Sun-Times
The movie is ambitious, has good energy and is well-acted, but tells a familiar story in a familiar way. The parallels to Brian De Palma's "Scarface" are underlined by scenes from that movie which are watched by the characters in this one.
|
| 60 |
Washington Post
The direction has a fluid, no-nonsense authority, and the performances by Harris, Phifer and Cam'ron seal the deal.
|
| 60 |
Chicago Reader
Paid in Full isn't a complete success; still, it moves beyond many cliches to create an honest portrait of several Harlem drug kingpins on their way up and inevitably down.
|
| 60 |
TV Guide
A vivid telling of a familiar story -- the rise and fall of a street criminal -- bolstered by exceptional performances and a clear-eyed take on the economics of dealing and the pathology of ghetto fabulousness.
|
| 58 |
Entertainment Weekly
A fake street drama that keeps telling you things instead of showing them, though Mekhi Phifer, playing a hustler who loves the life, is electric and true.
|
| 50 |
San Francisco Chronicle
Carla Meyer
Dreary.
|
| 50 |
Boston Globe
The only victims in Paid in Full are the dealers and their families -- and the only word for that is one this paper can't print.
|
| 30 |
Variety
Begins as a serious, straightforward account of the origins of the cocaine trade and "gangsta" culture in 1980s Harlem, but then downward spirals due to a weak plot and gratuitous violence.
|
| 30 |
LA Weekly
Lazily directed by Charles Stone III (the man behind Budweiser's "Whassup?!" campaign) from a leaden script by Matthew Cirulnick and novelist Thulani Davis.
|
| 30 |
Los Angeles Times
a freefall into urban hell that doesn't give us The impetus to jump or the awful gratification of the ride.
|
| 10 |
Village Voice
Ben Kenigsberg
As superficial as his 1999 short film "True," the inspiration for Budweiser's "Whassup?" commercials, Charles Stone III's feature debut is set in a 1986 Harlem that doesn't look much like anywhere in New York.
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