A violent street gang, the Rebels, rule the streets of Gary, Indiana. The Rebels shoot Marvin Bookman, a store-keeper, for giving the police information about a drive-by they did. Marvin's son, former NFL star John who helped to create the Rebels, returns to Gary to be with his father and, with a little help from his friends, to destroy the Rebels the Blaxploitation way.....It was always going to be a one off film, getting the most celebrated stars of the Blaxploitation genre, and having them in one film, referencing their success, and seamlessly branching into the sub genre that Boyz N Da Hood started back in 1991.But it's nothing more than seeing your favourite stars of yesteryear all being in one big vanity project, with a little bit of Death Wish thrown in for good measure.It's all stuff we've seen before, old versus new, the youngsters haven't got the respect like they did in the good old days, and of course, the setting has hit the doldrums with poverty and crime.But it's fun to see all these stars in one film in a genre that made them famous.It's a curiosity for sure, but just about worth watching.

I have always been a big fan of the blaxsploitation genre of the 70's and Original Gangsta's brings back most of the genre's biggest stars for this ensemble cast 90's action flick. The film is headlined by Fred "The Hammer" Williamson and is accompanied by Jim Brown, Pam Grier, Richard Roundtree and Ron O'Neil. In this very stylish 90's flick former old school heavies reunite to bring street justice and reclaim their neighborhood from ruthless dope pushing gang, The Rebels. This is the same gang that our heroes founded in the 70's as a protection gang, that has de evolved to its current incarnation as Gary, Indiana has become economically depressed, crime and violence has been on the rise. This was a great vehicle for Fred Williamson and "The Hammer" is a great commanding presence here as the lead. At age 58, he still is plenty tough and cool in this and is one of my favorite performances for sure. This is driven by action and style and there is plenty of it to go around. The more dramatic scenes were well done also and has great support from Paul Winfield, Robert Foster and Wings Hauser. Larry Cohen director of classics Black Caesar and Hell Up In Harlem did a great job in directing this and The Hammer himself was producer as well. Christopher B Duncan and Eddie Bo Smith Jr. were great as villains Spyro and Damien. Plus be sure not too miss cameo's from Bushwick Bill and others as well as a real excellent 90's rap soundtrack. Original Gangstas is pretty much The Expendables for the blaxsploitation genre and I personally like this movie a lot.

This is something like a re-union party of the so-called blaxploitation film stars, which shows the whole world that those guys and ladies are still sexy and strong enough to teach some lessons to the young, disrespectful punks in the neighborhood of the city of Gary, Indiana. That's all about the story, which is as uninspired as any B-action flicks. "Original" gangstas come back to town, to fight against the "new" gangsters that rule the street with terror. The charm of the film lies in the cast, which looks a dream team for any fans of the 1970's blaxploitaion films. Here they are back in good form: Fred Williamson ("Black Caesar"), Jim Brown ("Slaughter"), Pam Grier ("Coffy"), Richard Roundtree ("Shaft") and Ron O'Neil ("Superfly") and you got also players like Robert Forster (who in the following year makes a smashing collaboration with Pam Grier in "Jackie Brown") and Wings Hauser in his very unlikely role. It is a gift from the heaven for the movie fans like me.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

On the surface Original GANGSTAS insinuates it's going to be a tough , gritty vigilante thriller set in the ghetto with a bunch of law abiding citizens taking on some nasty gang bangers . At it's most vague and basic this is exactly what it is . But remember one thing - the cast list . Who's appearing . We've got Richard Roundtree , Jim Brown , Ron O' Neal , Pam Grier and Fred Williamson basically every mainstay from the blaxploitation movies from the 1970s . And this is how the movie plays out . In effect you're watching a sequel to all these funky movies from the 1970s , produced for white people for black people . Even the title of the movie has undertones of a follow up to these 70s movies The problem is that by the 1990s had come along Tarantino was the pin up boy of American cinema . We were now in the era of post modernism - some might claim post , post modernism - and watching OG you're struck by the lack of self referential concepts behind the proceedings . It also goes against the grain of other movies such as MENACE 2 SOCIETY in that there's a lack of anti-gangsta subtext and any social commentary is loosely touched upon and shallow . In effect it's straight forward vigilante wish fulfillment while being enjoyable to a degree certainly belongs in another era