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| King of New York |
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  (7/10)
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Runtime: 106 |
| Public Rating: 8.29 (17 votes) |
Director: Abel Ferrara |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: action/drama |
Year: 1990 |
| Writer(s): Nicholas St. Ray |
| Reviewed by: Morgan |
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King of New York is like a breath of fresh air in the crime genre . It is explosive, stylish, and very thrilling . It plays around with the character roles and doesn't live up to conventions, like the good guys aren't entirely good and bad guys aren't entirely bad . Every character is drawn with wonderful shades of gray . Throw that in with the kinetic action and you have a damn entertaining flick .
The plot centers around Christopher Walken as the titular role . He has just been released from prison and gets back into the his role as big time gangster . However, he has found a purpose and wants to open up a children's hospital . His action to achieve that are not as noble . He quickly wipes out opposing crime syndicates with the help of his gang, led by Jump Johnson, played by Laurence Fishburne . This character is given all the three dimesnions . Despite his panchant for violence, he has a tender side . This shown in a scene when he gives some kids some money to play some arcade video games . However, there expression of gratitude quickly turn to horror as he gets arrested the very next minute . He is also quite handy and quick with guns, as is shown in the shootouts he is in . There are also two cops, played by Wesley Snipes and David Caruso, whose methods are also questionable . When they don't have anything to nail on the King, they hire some assasins and mercenaries to storm one of his hideouts . The only character of true nobility is played by Victor Argo as a cop . He is really the only light of pureness among the characters .
This film just purely exemplifies the career of Abel Ferrara . His films are too glossy the independent scene, yet too quirky for the mainstream . He creates his own niche in cinema that is unique and fresh . He doesn't settle for easy answers or conventions . He is a very underrated filmmaker . King of New York is a very underrated film . It was just pushed aside among all those inferior urban crime tales that came out in the early 1990s . This one stands above them . This one is a true classic .
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