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Review Uploaded
12/18/02

1 hr. 30 mins.
Starring: John Leguizamo, Delilah Cotto, Peter Sarsgaard, Denise Richards, Nestor Serrano, Treach, Fat Joe, Sonia Braga, Rafael Baez, Vincent Laresca, Isabella Rossellini
Directed by: Franc Reyes

Rating: ** stars (out of 4 stars)

Writer-director Franc Reyes spins a frenzied fable of criminal intrigue in the rugged backyard of the South Bronx in his ambitious but woefully derivative crime saga Empire. Reyes, a former dance choreographer-turned-filmmaker, hoped to enter the arena of the drug drama sweepstakes by offering a twist in this overwrought genre--Latino style. Unfortunately, Empire is nothing more than an exhausting retread of the same clichéd urban cautionary tale that waxes about rebellion and redemption. Reyes's narrative is a tepid affair despite the romanticism of violence that's supposed to serve as the suspenseful bravado. When all is said and done, the makeup may be applied differently but the face of familiarity is the same. Empire's depiction of thug life is nothing out of the ordinary as compared to the countless flicks that tapped into this subject matter such as contemporary ditties Scarface, Sugar Hill, and New Jack City...just to name a few.

South Bronx drug kingpin Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo) is the once-upon-a-time delusional dreamer who relentlessly fantasized about the good life. Of course the good life to this narcotics-pushing opportunist is the concept of making loads of money at any cost. In fact, the self-absorbed drug lord Rosa enthusiastically talks about the importance of embracing money via a matter-of-factly voice-over narration. Yes, drug dealing is the ultimate high and in Rosa’s estimation no price is too high in the pursuit of living in the lap of luxury. If you are Victor Rosa, you’re a high-rolling personality with a “3-D” agenda: dollars, drugs, and dames. Hmmm, not bad considering that you’re a big fish in a small pond or more appropriately, a self-serving weasel distributing poison to desperate souls on the mean streets of a hardened New York neighborhood in a predictable and perfunctory inner city drama. But I digress…

The movie tries to top its routine premise by instilling some clumsy subplot involving a Wall Street investment-scam smoke screen in a feeble attempt to add a complex texture to this misguided, giddy actioner. Eventually, Rosa hooks up with an unctuous con artist named Jack Wimmer (played with a snide demeanor by Peter Sarsgaard from “Boys Don’t Cry”). Together, they hope to make more of a killing financially through stock investments and other risky dealings. Moving uptown and getting involved in the “legitimate” circus of finances where the “wealthy white boys” play is obviously a temptation that Rosa cannot pass up. So is this a wise decision to abandon your “roots” in the ‘hood and leave behind your homeboys in exchange for a change of scenery as well as some tempting savvy business opportunities in the elite world of Manhattanite shark-infested corporate cretins? For Victor Rosa, this gamble is simply the matter of preferring one lesser evil in reference to another one. The thrill is in a different challenge I suppose.

One cannot help but acknowledge the condescension and manipulation behind the mayhem in Empire. As a filmmaker, Reyes has a probing cinematic eye for the gritty gumption that is the pinnacle of his South Bronx stomping grounds. But what appears so troubling is his insistence on offering a skewed portrait that practically chastises and indicts his own people. Granted that as a Hispanic moviemaker, Reyes is entitled to present his Latino characters as he sees fit, especially within the realm of his riveting storyline involving crime and corruption. And yes, there are selections of ominous Latinos who do considerable damage when it comes to the involvement in greed, gunplay, gangs, girls, etc. No ethnicity escapes the social ills (whether being the victim or doing the victimizing) that are thrust upon an indelible society. But why does Reyes profoundly reinforce the self-destruction of his own people in cartoonish and calculating mode while promoting the upscale utopia of white-oriented sensibilities with scrutinizing but craftily handled aplomb?

It is understood that in a majority of squalor-driven crime dramas, the protagonist usually succeeds and climbs the wall of success at the expense of their fellow minorities within the same tattered community. Also compelling is the unrealized self-hatred that some of these anti-heroes quietly harbor within their fragile psyches. The thought of any individual racial group exploiting their own kind just to advance and be a “wannabe” in the process is both inconsolable and inexcusable. Hence, it makes for a revealing inner struggle that could be considered quite fascinating. But with the case of Empire’s conflicted Victor Rosa, Reyes never takes the adequate time to shape and mold his leading man as one such individual who may have lingering identity issues with who he is racially, psychologically, emotionally, or spiritually. Besides Rosa’s obvious swagger and capitalistic arrogance, there’s nothing to support his penchant for self-doubt as a Latino criminal looking to rescue his tainted soul through the universe of high and mighty cunning Caucasian power players.

When Rosa leaves behind his “Hispanic homies” for a greener pasture, is Reyes suggesting that his Spanish player’s “malaise” is being rescued through being white and wealthy? While in the confines of the barrio, Rosa has the loyalty of his sidekicks and the love of his devoted and pregnant college-attending girlfriend (Delilah Cotto) not to mention his illegal substance “empire” scattered throughout the lurking streets of the South Bronx. But that’s not much of a challenge for the unfulfilled Rosa. Why settle for this slight reality when you can conquer your lackluster existence with a materialistic mindset such as hanging out in a swanky mid-town loft and playing footsies with a desired white babe (Denise Richards) as an acquired and inspirational trophy?

The handlers behind Empire must have anticipated the criticism lodged against this movie by milking the overwrought formula that constitute these ubiquitous crimewave dramas because they glowingly admit to following in the noted tradition of this particular genre. Just because the filmmakers come clean and excuse the fact that they’re conjuring up yet another unimaginative and hysterical drug-infested exposition doesn’t mean that we should overlook the dismissal of them being original. Sure, the flick has the potency of a surging hip-hop soundtrack. The glossy cinematography that compares and contrasts the New York-based boroughs is noteworthy. Plus, the poetic chaos of violence that puts a stamp on the authenticity of this whole proceeding is chilling but rather arbitrary. And the movie even manages to feature dynamic cameos by colorful rap artists in the form of Fat Joe and Treach. But with this put aside, Empire is just another faceless thriller that occasionally jolts yet surprisingly never shocks from a captive, realistic perspective.

As the star of this flawed virulent vehicle, Leguizamo is somewhat adequate as the disoriented drug boss who’s put to the test regarding his overwhelming angst following the execution-style murder of his brother. As Rosa, Leguizamo plays this guy with a dose of ambivalence that’s stimulating enough in a script that more often than not is ribald standardize fare. The supporting cast adds some dimension to the mundane material. Sarsgaard is electrifying as the deceiving and daunting schemer that leads the duped Victor Rosa down the path of financial futility. The comical element includes Vincent Laresca as the impulsive gang lieutenant and Rafael Baez as the tough-as-nails-but-clueless aid respectively. Ageless beauty Sonia Braga is sympathetic, if not mildly stereotypical, as the cynical mother of Victor’s galpal who understandably disapproves of her daughter’s relationship with the harried heroin hustler.

Empire thrives awkwardly to provide its audience, most notably its Latino constituency, with a rollicking redemptive display in one man’s quest to overcome the madness of his cockeyed convictions surrounding that ever so demonic spellbinding force known as money. After all, it’s acceptable to develop a conscience and show contrition in one’s ill-advised actions. However, it’s too bad that this piece of anemic 90-minute cinema half-heartedly carries out this message in unconvincing fashion.