Cut Throat City is a 2020 crime drama that revolves around a group of four friends who decide to take on a dangerous heist for a local gangster.
Taking place during the devastating events of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, it revolves around a group of four friends (played by Moore, Shipp Jr., Whitazer and Johnson) who decide to take on a dangerous heist for a local gangster (T.I.) after their homes have been demolished by this terrible storm. Feeling desperate and angry that they are jobless and the Federal Emergency Management Agency isn’t doing anything to help them, they are pretty much left with no other choice. However, things go really wrong when they are being chased by police detectives and a warlord, and now they’re on the run. As mentioned on the poster, “Desperate times. Dangerous measures.”
In regards to the acting, everyone is good in their roles, especially Moore who stands out throughout the movie. It mostly wants you to focus on him, and he’s actually quite compelling thanks to his charismatic performance. Unfortunately, the supporting characters don’t have a lot of development, because they don’t have a lot of screen time compared to Moore. You don’t condone the actions of the main protagonists, but you somewhat understand their motivations for doing so. They’re just trying to survive.
As a crime drama, it does work with the help of RZA’s intense and gritty direction, especially when they’re pulling off the heist. It starts off with an animated sequence that does a good job setting up the tone of the story. With a runtime of two hours, it actually does have some pacing issues. The second half starts to feel slow, and it isn’t as riveting as the first half. The storytelling is admittedly messy at times, which means the flow of the narrative doesn’t always feel cohesive. Some scenes just drag for so long, and they’re not that engaging. The screenplay, written by Paul Cuschieri, has some intriguing ideas mixed in with some sloppy editing. Also, the ambiguous ending will probably leave the audience confused when it’s over.
Once again, there’s a difference between potential and reality. You can definitely feel the hard work that has gone into Cut Throat City, which is really admirable to see. It could have been such a great flick, given its interesting premise. As RZA’s latest movie in his filmography, it is a muddled yet alright crime drama that still has some enjoyment in it.