After reading some of the reviews recommending this trite, pretentious, poorly-executed piece of poo, I decided to write my own.
You may be familiar with director Hype Williams, who has directed some of the greatest hip-hop videos of the 90s. His slick camerawork and colorful style has made him a giant in the world of music videos, not just rap (Nelly Furtado, No Doubt).This movie stars rappers & singers in prominent roles,(I won't go there until later),and is basically an overly violent, 'I wanna say something deep' film that ends up giving the audience these big, melodramatic moments, with little to no basis for motivation.
The movie stars Nas,(Sincere) and DMX,(Tommy), as two drug dealing thugs heading in supposed opposite directions.T-Boz is Nas' wife and R&B singer Taral Hicks is X's girl.Sincere and Tommy represent the two characters that we see in EVERY urban Black drama: the semi-good guy that wants to turn his life around and go straight, and the crazy-as-hell heavy-in-the-game sociopath,respectively.(See also:Tre and Doughboy;Kane and O-Dog;Q and Bishop).
BELLY's worst problems don't stem from it's lack of originality, however.
1)The performances are horrible. The over-the-top performance by DMX hints that he could be a decent villain, but never a true character actor, and Nas is laughable as Sincere,(both he and T-Boz sound like they're reading their lines off of one of those Award show teleprompters). Method Man is tolerable as a violent hood, but he basically just plays himself in terms of mannerisms and voice.
2)The plot is pure pretentious slop.Violence on top of violence for 85% of the movie. Most of the time, the audience isn't even sure why someone is getting killed. There is little to no motivation explained for anything.Things just sort of happen.Little cohesiveness and thoroughly frustrating to watch. Also, the lines are delivered so poorly that a lot of the movie is unintelligible.

Sorry, Hype, your first movie was pretty enough, but you better get some decent screenwriters and stop casting musicians in major roles. That's the only way, you'll gain credibility.And for the Epinion writer who said that rappers make the best actors, I will pray for you.(I don't think DMX, Ice Cube, or Method Man could hold a candle to Denzel Washington, Al Pacino, or Tom Hanks). For anyone who likes this movie, I'll send you my list of the 25 best movies ever made and we'll try to get that problem fixed, okay?
By the way, the worst movie I've ever seen-'Batman and Robin'BLEEECCCCHH!!!!

Recommended:
No

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: None of the Above
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older