June 26, 2006 @ 5:19 pm

Waist Deep

by: Jay Casteel

The film begins with main character O-2 (played by Tyrese Gibson) getting off his shift as a security guard to pick up his son Junior (H. Hunter Hall) from school, but is caught up since his pothead cousin Lucky (Larenz Tate) is too stoned to clock in for the next shift. This is where the story begins to unravel.

O-2 (let’s call him O for short) is a convicted felon, who already has two strikes, but somehow is allowed to carry a gun at his security, as part of a program to rehabilitate ex-cons. (sidenote: I’ve never heard of this kind of program, have you?)

right After O manages to finally pick up his son – who he barely knows due to his time served in prison – his car gets carjacked while his son is asleep in the back seat. He gets into a gun battle with the jackers in the middle of Los Angeles traffic and although he does manage to take out a couple of the assailants, the one who manages to crawl into the driver seat of his convertible gets away. And now? You guessed it: O is on a mission to find his son.

The only lead O has comes from a street hustler name Coco (Meagan Good), who tries to sell him a stolen suit just before the carjacking. Fortunately, she becomes his reluctant partner in quest to get Junior back. And, as O and Coco take you from hood crime dens and upscale safe houses, you get the feeling the whole plot is a little absurd.

The on-screen duo finds out that Junior is being held for ransom by neighborhood kingpin Big Meat (played by rapper the Game) - who has the tendency to sever limbs of those who make him mad and is also responsible for putting O behind bars in the first place. This is when O and Coco go on a mini-crime spree to raise money for his son’s ransom, which is badly staged and unnatural for the most part.

Waist Deep becomes more and more outlandish as the plot pans out, with the film winding down in a rather expected car chase. The movie’s focus and unlikely choice of actions makes it hard to really enjoy the film. Luckily, the work of Gibson, Good and Larenz Tate make up for some of its failures.

Amidst the film’s bank robberies and shootouts though, stands a social message: “Save Our Streets.” If this film is an on-screen depiction of what goes on regularly in the hood, then Waist Deep is a fitting title.

Read more vibe.com reviews.

Article tags: Waist Deep, Tyrese, Tyrese Gibson, New Movie With Tyrese, Tyrese's New Movie, Tyrese New Movie, Tyrese And Meagan Good, The Game's Acting Debut, The Game 

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