Watch Belly For Free

The Worst Film Ever

Good movie but grossly overrated

A lot of fun.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Nobody is better equipped either aesthetically or visually to evoke spontaneity in an African-American urban crime thriller about gangsters-in-the-hood than video director Hype Williams. For the record, Hype has helmed videos for some of the most popular hip-hop vocalists, including The Notorious B.I.G., Will Smith, Babyface, and R. Kelly. Indisputably, Williams captures the smoke-laden atmosphere, the cold sweaty paranoia, and above all the improvised lifestyle of black gunmen who live on the edge with their families and their high-class surroundings. Basically, however, "Belly" is a little more than a competently handled but traditional shoot'em up about drug lords battling over territorial rights, and redemption. The story focuses on Tommy (DMX, aka Earl Simmons) and his pal Sincere (NAS) as they rob night clubs and deal a new kind of heroin and the wages of their violent lives. While this film features a visually dazzling look which you will remember long after you've forgotten about the thoroughly formulaic plot that is as old as any blue-collar Warner Brothers gangster thriller from the 1930s. The lip and the hip are hypnotic, but the story is hackneyed. Williams and storytellers Anthony Bodden and hip-hopster Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones draw on the contemporary crime scene as well as thrillers like "Scarface." The attack on Ox's palatial residence resembles the Columbians attack on Tony Montana's estate and the bargain between Tommy and the authorities to kill the Minister is akin to Tony's bargain to kill an anti-drug spokesman. Of course, you can guess what happens with this subplot. Our two protagonists eventually see the light of day and understand the moral trouble that they have brought down on themselves, but they are nevertheless rewarded for what they've done before they turned over a new leaf. The gunfights are standard-issue, and most of the performances are believable, except for Ben Chavis as the Minister who seems to be reciting his message laden dialogue without an ounce of inspiration. "Belly" is an ordinary African-American crime thriller with striking visuals but there is little striking about its derivative narrative.

About ten years ago I heard about this film through the overwhelmingly negative reviews. I never got the chance to see it myself but the names involved and the fact it was William's debut as a "proper filmmaker" made me want to see it for myself – I didn't think it would be ten years before it came to me via television. Watching it for myself I find the critics to be spot on the money with their criticism because this is a roundly poor film that doesn't deliver on any level – even the areas that you would expect it to at least be OK on. The problems start with the basic plot, which at best is a mumbled sentence about two gangsters living rough and finding redemption – I sincerely doubt that there was a plot synopsis or a story board done for this before writing began, because the ideas are so basic in the final product that it cannot have been more than an one-liner when it came to the development stages.These poor ideas are built into a messy and disjointed plot that has zero narrative flow to it – zero. Nada. None. We do have scenes that connect across the story but on the whole the film feels like fragmented scenes from other films in the same genre – at best lazy, at worst, dumb homage/lifts. Again this comes down to the poor idea for the film, with blocks of narrative put alongside one another without a lot of connection – the place it all ends up is so laughably corny and out of nowhere that it is hard not to sit there shaking your head in disbelief at how bad it is. Unsurprisingly the script is not up to much. At its BEST, the film is mumbling ebonic gangsa clichés – let me stress that again: the best bits in the script are mumbled clichés. The worst is when the characters dialogue is required as part of the story because none of it rings true, my favourite bad bit being Nas' declaration that he will "go to Africa", which is OK to say as a throwaway line in a song but when it is a key thought in your character's head that he makes happen, then maybe it was worth picking a country? I mean – it is a pretty big place and it is incredibly different across each country, with definite places to avoid. That is my pick but there are plenty more.The cast function at the level one would expect given what they have to deal with. It is a common complaint that rappers do not make good films or make good actors and, while there are some exceptions (Mos Def for one) this is often the case. So what better to do than isolate the problem by sticking them all in one film together and having done with it? DMX can "do" street and "do" tough but when the film even suggests that he need do more he just goes to pieces and seems to be mugging for all his worth. Nas meanwhile spends a lot of the film being "deep" and thoughtful but he is also exposed by having a terrible narration to deliver that he cannot make work in any way. Don't feel too sorry for him though – he has a writer's credit on this turd. The presence of Johnson and Meth only serve to remind fans of The Wire how good things can be and by extension, remind us how bad this is even as we watch it. Hicks, T-Boz, Power and others all compete to see who can be the most wooden and unconvincing – my vote goes to TLC's T-Boz for reacting to the Nas being shot in the way one would react to the news that your partner had just snagged their favourite jumper on a nail and made a minor hole in it.Most surprisingly bad though is the film as a visual experience. Here and there we have some clever shot-framing and camera angles but for the vast majority of the film things are murky and dull, with the cinematography awful and none of the invention and eye for a shot that Hype Williams has made his career off. You hear people saying this film is bad but it looks great, I really have to disagree because on the whole it looks awful. And there we have Belly – a film that fails in almost every regard. It is clichéd and simple but yet still cannot manage to make the story flow, while the poor script makes sure that any hint of character or hope of performances from the cast are almost totally gone (with the casting processing putting the final lock on that door). The big clue of quality though is that the one thing we thought we could rely on Williams for (the visuals) is also mostly poor. I watch plenty of so-so films so please believe me when I tell you that this is not a disappointment or a letdown – this is a total pile-up of a film.

I don't understand how anyone could not like this movie. It covers so many grounds on real life issues, such as friendship, love, and at the same time action packed with violence. Every part of this movie will keep you paying attention because it changes up so much but stays on the story line.This is one of those movies that i can watch over and over again without getting tired of it and find something new in it every time. I can't even lie, the first time i watch this movie I didn't even know what was going on. When the movie went off i didn't know what happened and was left looking confused but i had no problem watching it again. Movies that you have to watch more than once are the ones that are worth keeping to me. No one wants a movie when after you watch it once, you never have a reason to watch it again.In my opinion this was a great movie because, i actually live around and know people who are like the people in the movie and i could really relate to it. This movie teaches so many morals you might not even notice them all. This was a great debut for the two rappers in this movie(Nas and DMX).Other rappers co-starred like Method Man too. This movie is the movie that really opened the door for other rappers in the acting industry. Overall this is a must see movie even if you don't like rap music or gangster like movies.

"Belly", the film, has been rated poorly by the critics, and for a simple reason - the critics are mostly White. Whites do not share the culture of the film's characters, and will probably just write this film off for it's exploitative elements. However, if you are Black, this film will probably be rated much better than the "White" critic's ratings. Take the OJ Simpson verdict of, "not guilty", the White Audience's response was that of a funeral - silence, moans, and shock. On the other side, the Black Audience's reaction was just the opposite - cheers, and jumping with joy. Film and Art is very subjective, and is not like math, where if you are right, you can be proved right, but in Art, there is no such proof. Also, there is something I think that many would not agree with me, is that when White people see a movie that is not made by a White Person, they have subconscious prejudices that are transferred to the film, and in some cases may rate a film poorly, just because they feel a Black Person can NOT make a movie better than a White Person. "Belly" is a "great film", and there should be more Black Film Critics.