Movie Review • 24 years ago Belly gave us one of the greatest intros in a movie. That club entrance scene with Buns & Sincere with that blue lighting is a scene no one will ever forget. Hype Williams made his first & only film directorial debut with Belly & with the cinematography, he definitely brought that 90’s music video aspect.
Buns & Sincere grew up together in Queens, NY raised by the streets. All they knew was drugs & murder & that is the life they led until Sincere began to educate himself & understand that there is more to life than money & drugs. Buns was more of the hot head & thought drugs & money was the only way so he lived a way more dangerous life, which will eventually catch up to him. Once Buns was hired to assassinate a black Muslim leader from this unknown organization & started learning the Muslim religion he actually started to look at life in a different light.
The planned assassination reminded me of how a lot of our former black powerful leaders were killed. We all know when a black man has a power to make a change within our own community that’s when the government is ready to shut it all down at any means necessary & it’s usually by taking out the leader. Fortunately, the minister talked Buns out of it but I’m sure that caused more issues with the organization that hired him, but the movie didn’t give us any details on that.
In my opinion the cinematography was the best part of the film. Keisha (Taral Hicks) had us gagging with her scene walking around the house in that lingerie with the blue light hitting all the right spots. Those blue lights on their dark skin really captured how our skin can be made into art when it’s done in the lens of our own people. The acting wasn’t the best but it wasn’t horrible either. With it being DMX & Nas first feature film I can give them a little grace. Hype gave rappers another outlet outside of rapping & this movie is considered a cult classic thanks to him.Â
