Paid in Full

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

It's good, hard-edged stuff, violent and a bit exploitative but also nicely done, morally alert and street-smart.

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.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

An unpretentious, sociologically pointed slice of life.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Paid In Full's performances - especially by the always-engaging Phifer -- are strong, its message worthwhile and its sincerity doubtless.

New York Post Megan Lehmann

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.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

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.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

The direction has a fluid, no-nonsense authority, and the performances by Harris, Phifer and Cam'ron seal the deal.

Chicago Reader Fred Camper

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.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

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.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

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.

San Francisco Chronicle Carla Meyer

Dreary.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

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.

Variety Scott Foundas

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.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

Lazily directed by Charles Stone III (the man behind Budweiser's "Whassup?!" campaign) from a leaden script by Matthew Cirulnick and novelist Thulani Davis.

Los Angeles Times Jan Stuart

a freefall into urban hell that doesn't give us The impetus to jump or the awful gratification of the ride.

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.