FeatureR1993·97m·7.5

Menace II Society

This is the truth. This is what's real.

DramaCrimeThriller

A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.

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Cast

Tyrin Turner

Caine 'Kaydee' Lawson

Larenz Tate

Kevin 'O-Dog'

Glenn Plummer

Pernell

Jada Pinkett Smith

Ronnie

Samuel L. Jackson

Tat Lawson

June Kyoto Lu

Grocery Store Woman

Toshi Toda

Grocery Store Man

Reginald Ballard

Clyde

Khandi Alexander

Karen Lawson

Jullian Roy Doster

Anthony

Brandon Hammond

Five Year Old Caine

Eugene Lee

Man #1

James Pickens Jr.

Man #2

Nancy Cheryll Davis

Teacher

Marilyn Coleman

Grandmama

Arnold Johnson

Grandpapa

Saafir

Harold Lawson

Pooh Man

Doc

MC Eiht

A-Wax

Vonte Sweet

Sharif

Details

Status
Released
Original language
English
Languages
English
Budget
$3.5M
Revenue
$27.9M
Age rating
R
Quality
4K UHD · HDR10 · Dolby Vision
Production
New Line Cinema

Crew

Director

Albert Hughes

Writers

Tyger Williams, Allen Hughes, Albert Hughes

Quincy Jones III

Original Music Composer

Lisa Rinzler

Director of Photography

Christopher Koefoed

Editor

Sylvia Vega-Vasquez

Costume Design

Penny Barrett

Production Design

Gallery

Reviews

r96sk

9/7/2025

8.0

<em>'Menace II Society'</em> delivers an eventful 90 minutes! It's a film I certainly like, it is a predictable (beginning aside) ride but one that does manage to hit a fair bit. The characters are admittedly not the most likeable, though their predicament is still easy to connect to. Tyrin Turner makes for a solid lead, with Larenz Tate and Jada Pinkett (Smith) the pick of the rest; the latter, to be honest, brings the best acting of the main bunch. Aside from Pinkett, I did find the acting to be imperfect - not bad, whatsoever, but those away from Jada do get a bit cringey in parts. Good to see Samuel L. Jackson involved, albeit minimally. The ending, whilst good and totally serviceable, did irritate me slightly. I won't spoil what happens, but the 'last act' of Caine doesn't make total sense; you can tell they done it like that because it sounded dramatic on paper. Is it just me or did he laughably put the young fella in more danger? It took me out of the scene, I can't lie. Overall, this 1993 release is very good. I just evidently had a couple of (relatively minor, but noteworthy) issues with it, that's all.