New Jack City (1991) review

Ambitious drug lord Nino (Wesley Snipes) has taken over a huge section of New York City and can't be caught, so NYPD police officer Stone (Van Peebles, in his directorial debut) recruits unorthodox detectives Appleton (Ice-T) and Peretti (Judd Nelson) to bring him down - later, they help clean up addict Pookie (Chris Rock) and turn him into an informant.  The hyper-masculinity and constant posturing - everyone's ready to fight all the time - makes it slightly comical at times and Mario's 'style' is a little over-emphatic, but it has the gall to not point fingers elsewhere (the U.S. Government, the cops, etc.) when it came to the crack epidemic of the 1980's and 90's - it's a community problem (like it is right now with fentanyl in suburban areas) - and shows that smart people with good lawyers can cheat the legal system ... but can't stop a bullet from an angry grandfather.  Also, let's take a second to appreciate Mr. Snipes and his willingness to play heroes, villains and everyone in between.