With his pregnant girlfriend in jail, Diquan is running out of choices. He can either deal guns for cash, or turn informer and cut a deal to get her out. The trouble starts when he decides to do both. Now all the firepower... more » in the projects is pointing in Diquan's direction - but he's ready. He's strapped.« less
"Forest Whtaker's directorial debut, Strapped is a gritty action packed drama of a young black man conflicted in his feeling of being loyal to his own or representin' his Housing Projects code of Silence when it comes to crime. Newcomer Bokeem Woodbine does a good job in his acting debut as DiQuan Mitchell, The Teen with the conflicted feelings. Rap Star Fredro Starr is excellent as the Gun Selling,Take no shorts Character,Bamboo.Excellent Movie with a surprising Climax!! A Must See!! Michael Biehn is also surprisingly good as Police Officer McCrane. Kia Goodwin,Jermaine Hopkins,Willie Stiggers Jr. and Rappers Kool Moe Dee, Monie Love,Busta Rhymes,Das EFX & YoYo also star in this flick. Kudos also to the Actor who played "Ben",the supposedly family Man who uses his FFL license to purchase guns by mail, then in turn sells them to the Kids of the Brooklyn Housing Projects... A Must see for fans of Urban filmed & shot Drama!!STARS!!"
STRAPPED Review!
Crazy Jim | Massachusetts | 03/17/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Forest Whitaker made his directorial debut with this gritty urban tale about a young black male forced to walk both sides of the law. Working as both an informant for an ATF official and as an arms dealer himself, DiQuan Mitchell (played brilliantly by Bokeem Woodbine) is hoping to earn enough money to move out of the projects and gather up enough evidence to get his pregnant crack-dealing girlfriend released from prison. Partnering up with his childhood friend, Bamboo (Onyx's Fredro Starr in one of his first roles), the two try to make their own moves, cutting out Bamboo's original business partner, a white middle-class weapons whole saler named Benny. This erupts into problems on the streets which result in a murder and a number of betrayals in the process. "Strapped" plays pretty solidly for a made-for-HBO film. First-time director Whitaker uses a documentary-like atmosphere along with an underutilized cast of actors which includes a number of well-known rappers such as Busta Rhymes and Kool Moe Dee to tell an amazing story. The movie carries a very strong anti-gun message. Spike Lee's "Clockers" which followed some months later adopted some of the same themes."
Strapped
Crazy Jim | 06/15/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A very underated movie at the time an easy one to miss but put simply a must have for your hood collection up there with belly,new jack city and new jersey drive.ohh and a great soundtrack(just get it)you wont be dissapointed.great story good acting what more can i say."
Hardcore
Crazy Jim | 05/21/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Great flick! The story was sharp, the acting was great, and the soundtrack was awesome. Is the soundtrack available?"
A five star movie all the way-strapped
lemakk7 | ny | 01/13/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"this is movie is so good, you don't see movies like these anymore.the movie captivates you about crooked cops and it demonstrates how far people will go to better their life situations.i highly recommend this movie for anybody that wants to see cops and street criminals dealing with guns,but its more about survival for these good actors.fredo starr is such a good actor like tupac shakur, he makes you feel like hes the real person being portrayed."