Menace 2 Society film review

I give my thoughts on Menace 2 Society with a non spoiler and spoiler review.

Non-spoiler review

Story

I love how Menace 2 Society opens. We already feel like its going to be serious! 

The monologue made you connect with the character instantly with the tone of voice. 

The opening scene was shocking! 

I feel this film is so profound and powerful! This film makes you analyze so many things including poverty as well as crime and systemic racism. One of the flaws of this film is some characters feel too one-dimensional.     

Cinematography

I love the cam. shots of the city. Every shot feels like a photograph!

Music

I love how the music instills emotions without being too distracting. The music is mostly playing in the background. It lets actors do their jobs with the characters. The music reflects the setting accurately. 

Acting  

The acting is outstanding! Everyone did a fantastic job! It feels so realistic!  

Dialogue

This film has powerful dialogue especially at the near end. The dialogue accurately depicts how illiterate and uneducated characters seem.  

Theme 

This film is not about heroes vs. villains. It shows how poverty and isolation can turn average people into cold-blooded killers. It can cause chaos in society.  

In conclusion, Menace 2 Society is a masterpiece that feels like a documentary! I highly recommend you to buy Menace 2 Society on DVD! 

Spoiler review

I love how Menace 2 Society opens. We already feel like its going to be serious! Although dog says he won't steal, you feel he will when he drinks the beer in store. 

The monologue made you connect with the character instantly with the tone of voice. 

The opening scene was shocking! The film doesn't glorify violence. Just shows you the reality of it! You think the man is innocent but we find he stole money from the store. 

I love how the film shows the history of white violence against the black community to give a backstory of the setting. 

You feel the despair the characters face when Caine mentions the drugs started after the riots stopped. 

Its shocking how adults act around children like Caine. 

The dialogue made this film more intense! 

I'm shocked and disturbed the nurse asked for forms after seeing Caine bleeding!

The scene where Grandpa talks about religion shows how much despair Dog has.

The line "do you even care whether you live or die?" was deeply powerful!

You can feel Caine's hopelessness as he stares at the ceiling reflecting on what he did.

You can feel the hate and anger with each shot fired!  

Caine's character progresses as the life he lives isn't what he thought it was. Regardless of what he does, he feels empty inside. I loved how the film shows Caine reflecting deeply in agony. 

You can see Dog among others are not Caine's friends. Dog drinks the beer and leaves none for Caine. 

Its disturbing when the child asks for a drink, alluding to the beginning of the film when Caine does the same.

There are some dark and heavy moments such as Caine's lover admits to him she's pregnant. 

There were some emotional scenes like the jail visit scene. 

The violence in this film was brutal! 

Menace 2 Society's story was profound in so many ways! I believe Dog was Caine's alter ego. In the opening scene, the Koreans didn't necessarily speak directly to Dog. They could've spoken to Caine. Caine's father could've subconsciously influenced Caine to be a murderer. To hide Caine's guilt, Caine blamed Dog for killing the Koreans.  

Dog doesn't help Caine's cousin to the hospital. Dog doesn't actually speak directly to Sharif. Caine's grandfather calls Caine "Kadee Kevin." Dog greets his grandparents but they don't respond to him. Caine's teacher also call Caine Kadee. After Caine's grandparents lecture him, Dog tells Caine he was going to tell him something before they went in the house. This doesn't make sense as Caine was already in the house.

The police only found Caine's fingerprints in the store at the opening scene. This doesn't make sense if Caine and Dog were different people as Dog's fingerprints were practically everywhere. 

When Caine wants a double burger with cheese, it mirrors Dog taking the bag with a double burger and cheese. 

Dog is never there when important people are there to help change Caine's life but he's always there to pressure Caine to commit crimes. 

Dog Sharif tells Dog "you not either Kevin.." Caine may have become an alcoholic as an adult after being given alcohol as a child. Because Caine wants to be like Pernell so bad, its reasonable to think he gave Anthony liquor. To hide his guilt, he blamed Dog. 

Dog almost always speaks rhetorically, reflecting what Caine feels subconsciously. 

Chauncy threatens to send the video tape of Dog shooting the Koreans to the police but he says "I bet you Caine won't be laughing after the police get a hold of this tape.." Why would he give the tape to the police if dog was real and his target was Caine? 

When the police chase Dog and Caine, it makes no sense for neither of them to escape if Dog was real. 

When Caine is in jail, Dog is nowhere to be found. 

Caine is resistant to moving to Atlanta just like Dog is because even if he moves there, life probably won't change.   

During the shooting at the end, Shariff and Caine are shot multiple times except for Dog who fires at the shooters multiple times. Strangely enough, Dog doesn't hit one shooter apparently. Otherwise, we would've seen or heard of it. You could argue "its just a film.." but i highly doubt this is a coincidence given everything we know. 

There's a clip of Dog being put in a police car which isn't a flashback. This implies Caine survived and spent life in prison. This explains why he still narrated his alleged death.

Dog represents Caine's insecurities, toxic masculine attitudes, fears of dying, and intimacy. You see Caine repeat his parents' behavior. He sells drugs and kills like his father. He doesn't hit Ronnie or get her addicted to drugs like his father but his alter ego, Dog, resents listening to her. He became neglectful of his children like his father.        

I feel Ronnie may have been no better than Dog. She's far older than Caine so one could argue she's a sexual predator. She also wants to isolate Caine from his friends. One of the flaws of this film is some characters feel too one-dimensional.       

Cinematography

I love the cam. shots of the city

I loved how the cam. followed Caine as he entered the house. Its like he was giving you a tour. 

Every shot feels like a photograph!

Music

Acting  

Dialogue

Theme