Imperium - Zwei Welten prallen aufeinander

There's probably no point in discussing the plot of "Empire," since the whole movie is all but divulged in the trailers, but it's not in my best interest to leave people in the dark. Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo, also providing voice-over narration) is a South Bronx drug dealer who wants to get out of the business and lead a normal life with his pregnant girlfriend (Delilah Cotto), who is expecting their first child. Victor believes Wall Street investment banker Jack Wimmer (Peter Sarsgaard) is his lifeline to quick – and legal – financial freedom. It's not long before his alliance with Wimmer begins to alienate relationships with his friends and partners, which in turn yields serious consequences. This solid storyline is lost in the abyss of director Franc. Reyes' world of near-pitch black sets, endless gunplay, flat dialogue that's composed mainly of colorful metaphors, and rappers playing trigger-happy drug dealers (in this case, Treach and Fat Joe; at least they're a major improvement over stiffs like Ja Rule and DMX). The third act collapses under the weight of its predictability; a field guide and binoculars won't be needed to spot twists that can be seen from a country mile away. Denise Richards pops up in the egregious role of Wimmer's sexpot girlfriend, but don't let that deter you from seeing an otherwise fairly entertaining movie. It's difficult to argue, though, that Leguizamo's talents were better put to use in "Ice Age." 7/10

The picture talks upon a drug dealer called Victor Rosa (John Leguizamo) who loved by his girlfriend (Dalilah Cotto) and with a lot of success on south Bronx turns his back on his roots , developing an economic relation with a Wall Street yuppie financier (Peter Saasgard) and his fiancée (Denise Richards). As he gives money to the Wall Street broker to invest for him .

In the motion picture , shot in 22 days , there is tension , a love story , thriller , emotion , intrigue and a little bit of violence . The movie is fast-moving and enough entertaining but happens many events ; dealing with a big time dope dealer who soon learns that he has been betrayed and his last option is to get vengeance . The pic obtained moderated success and didn't attain the box office that the producers wanted . The suspense movie is well-paced but there're some storyline gaps and the twisted plot makes it a few ridiculous . The film is rated ¨R¨ for violence and some sex and isn't apt for little boys , being for + 18 years' viewers . John Leguizano's fine interpretation as a successful drug dealer who becomes involved dark issues , he is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal and a new friend who happens to be a Wall Street stockbroker . Leguizano is pretty good but plays as Latin stereotypes . Producers originally wanted John Leguizamo to perform Jimmy , he loved the part of Victor so much that he got the director to give him that role . Thanks to Leguizano , the cast was completed with other enjoyable stars , as he used his star power to help bring bigger names to the project . Dalilah Cotto and Denise Richards are attractive as well as charming and Peter Saasgard as a hotshot business manager is magnificent . Isabella Rossellini as a Colombian drug lord is miscast and the veteran Sonia Braga hands a role very secondary as the starring's mother . The musical score by also actor Ruben Blades is nice and the movie is rightly directed by Fran Reyes .

Despite its poor box office performance and multitude of bad reviews from major critics, I found the movie to be quite good. John Leguizamo gives a powerful performance, exhibiting that same dramatic power he did in Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam." This is writer/director Franc Reyes' first film, and it's no masterpiece, but he definitely shows signs of talent. Not to mention the film was made on a low budget, yet it's just as effective, if not more, than urban gangster movies twice its budget. The film is flashy, but not too flashy. There is one shot, inspired by John Woo, in which Fat Joe flips a shotgun up in the air and it's played in slow-motion. Moments like that have their charm, "moment" being the key word. Too many scenes like that and you've got yourself the stereotypical, hare-brained, MTV music video disguising as a motion picture ala "Charlie's Angels." Reyes used an interesting lighting technique, making the ghetto scenes appear more golden and the uptown scenes a darker, blue-ish color. In most movies of this type, the ghetto scenes would be much more darkly lit, but Reyes wanted to break from the mold.

The story is predictable, except for one moment at the very end, but at the same time it's inspired and realistic. There are a few contrived, you-asked-for-it moments like Leguizamo's girlfriend catching him cheating on her with Denise Richards, but I didn't make a big fuss out of them. Reyes himself grew up in the South Bronx, so some of the scenes and characters are inspired from his childhood, and that inspiration really shows. Also, I always condone films with predominantly Latin-American casts, whether they're good or bad, because Hispanics are still very much snubbed in the world of media. So this is a film from a real Latin-American perspective, and not the perspective of a white man who did some research on their barrios and starring white actors with cheesy Latin accents (i.e.: Al Pacino in "Scarface").

Even though I'm all for minorities getting their art out there, that doesn't mean they have to diss the majorities. What I wasn't too thrilled about was the way the white characters were written. They're portrayed as the usual stuck-up, Armani-wearing fools they are in most films with a cast predominantly consisting of minorities. The climax involves the Peter Skarsgard character yelling out a racial slur. That seemed like a cheap device to elicit huge reactions from the young Hispanics in the audience. And the Denise Richards character is a ditsy floozie. What else is new? However, I've seen worse Caucasian stereotypes in African-American films. At least in this case, the whites weren't complete objects of ridicule.

The only member of the cast who I felt was out of place was Isabella Rossellini, who for some reason just seems like she walked onto the wrong movie set and never seems comfortable with her role. But the rest of the cast is superb. God knows I don't condone rappers venturing into acting, as a general rule, but the rappers who are in the film (Fat Joe and Treach from Naughty By Nature) are effective in their small roles, the key word being "small." If they had more major roles, my opinion would probably be a lot more negative.

"Empire" is a good, solid, well-acted, entertaining, action-packed joyride with great elements of truth. In a way, it's like an inner-city film noir.

My score: 7 (out of 10)

A South Bronx drug dealer (Leguizamo) with an uncommon sense of honor and professionalism longs for a better life and thinks he has found his way into mainstream respectability when he meets slick and duplicitous Wall Street investment banker Jack Wimmer (Sarsgaard in an uncharacteristically one-dimensional performance). Things go well at first and he believes he has left his old life behind for good but then disaster strikes.

Written and directed by Franc Reyes this was a star vehicle for non-star John Leguizamo who also co-produced. Its pretensions are toward being a modern version of a 1930's Warner Brothers gangster picture with the Shakespearian rise and fall of a strong-willed character. Instead it falls flat with a preposterous premise and stereotypical shoot-em up elements.

This is a thoroughly amateurish production right down to the casting of the extras and one wonders why solid actors like Sarsgaard, Rosellini, Serrano and Braga would have let themselves get talked into doing something like this.

Reyes may have thought he was being clever by giving roles to people that aren't really actors but the result is a mess filled with awful performances that only picks up energy at the end (by which time most of the amateur actors' characters have been killed off).

Just caught up with this film on cable. I never saw it when it was released, and frankly, it was my loss. Franc. Reyes has directed a surprising first feature that has a glossy noirish look. It speaks volumes for a new director to have a style that's easy on the eye as well as for the mind.

John Leguizamo is a huge talent. I have seen him on stage in almost all of his solo presentations and can tell anyone that this man is a dynamo. He never stops surprising; he has a range that few others have and he uses it to his advantage. Mr. Leguizamo's Victor makes a deep impression. We never let our eyes leave Victor for a moment; this man is the product of the streets, but he proves to have a mind of his own and a sophistication that are not easy to match.

The idea of casting Peter Sargaard as Jack was pure genius. This actor is about one of the best working in films at the moment. In the movie he is the suave Jack who has a hidden agenda. Mr. Sargaard perfectly balances the action. His character is the product of the best schools. Victor is impressed because Jack accepts him from the beginning without apparent reservations or prejudice.

The problem with the film is that we know how it's going to end, and we weren't wrong. It was predictable, but the director and the two principals made the film a joy to watch.

The rest of the cast was fine, especially Denise Richards, a beautiful Delilah Cotto, who can give JayLo a lot of competition in the looks department, and Isabella Rosellini, who is perfect as La Colombiana with her big hair and furs.