Product Details

• Actors: James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Lela Rochon, Dennis Quaid, James Earl Jones
• Directors: Jim Kouf
• Writers: Jim Kouf
• Producers: Jim Kouf, Brad Krevoy, Jeffrey D. Ivers, Jeffrey Downer, John Bertolli
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Digital Video Transfer, NTSC
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Orion
• VHS Release Date: October 20, 1998
• Run Time: 102 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304753799
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #197,278 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

A classic example of a good idea ruined by Hollywood formulas. Jim Belushi and Tupac Shakur (in his last performance) are two corrupt cops with an effective scheme: they rob and kill drug dealers. Unfortunately, one of their victims turns out to be an undercover agent for the DEA, and the two bad cops have to scramble to find a suspect to pin the murder on. Soon they're caught in a web of missing evidence, false witnesses, and frayed nerves--Gang Related could have been a lean film noir, slowly tightening until the men break under the pressure. Unfortunately, this isn't the 1940s, and suddenly the plot takes an absurd twist into the most melodramatic coincidence imaginable. It's too bad. Also featuring the lovely Lela Rochon, James Earl Jones, David Paymer, and a surprise performance by Dennis Quaid. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

Two killers are hiding where no one will ever find them...behind their badges! Tupac Shakur (in hisfinal and most riveting performance) and James Belushi are two corrupt police detectives caught in a dangerous web of deceit in this "gritty, smart and tough" (CBS-TV) action thriller that will hold you in its grip from start to finish. Detectives Divinci (Belushi) and Rodriguez (Shakur) practice their own deadly brand of street justice: They set up drug deals, seize the money for themselves and then murder the dealers. It's a lucrative racket that has worked without a hitch for months. But when they discover that their latest victim was an undercover officer with the Drug Enforcement Agency, the two corrupt cops are forced to initiate a dangerous scheme to save their own lives. And as their "foolproof" plan begins to spin madly out of control, Divinci and Rodriguez are trapped in a tornado of suspicion, betrayal and murder in which they can trust no one...not even each other.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tupac's final film, November 18, 2005

By 

Trevor Cotton (Penzance, Cornwall, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gang Related (DVD)

Like most people reviewing here, i bought this film to see Tupac, had he not been in the film it's doubtful I would have been interested. Having now watched it, I was quite surprised at how good the film was, especially considering the lack of promotion it seemed to get (in England anyway).

Tupac and James Belushi are cast as two crooked cops who set up drug deals, take the money and then kill the dealers, dishing out their own kind of justice. It all goes badly wrong when they mistakenly kill an undercover cop, and have to continuosly scramble to cover their tracks. Tupac is perhaps surprisingly cast as the better of the two cops, the one with a conscience, a less imaginative director would have probably cast them the other way round. Belushi plays the cop who will do anything to save himself, and to be honest, though Tupac is good in the film, Belushi does steal the show, Pac has more of a supporting role.

There are many twists and coincidences in the plot, and it does keep you on edge, but it is not without it's faults though, the poor ending being the main problem. Overall though this is a very watchable film, and obviously Tupac's final screen performance, recommended.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars GANG RELATED review, August 14, 2003

By 

Crazy Jim (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gang Related [VHS] (VHS Tape)

James Belushi and rapper Tupac Shakur in his final performance before his death are corrupt detectives who murder an undercover DEA agent and try to pin the murder on someone else. With the help of Belushi's stripper girlfriend, played by Lela Rechon, the two go on a rampage trying to find the perfect suspect to tag the murder to. When the murdered DEA agent's colleagues keep asking questions, the cops feel even more pressured to produce any evidence that distances them from the murder.

Belushi and Shakur make for a good team in an otherwise average crime thriller. Belushi is the more brutal of the two as he goes around kicking and blasting while the more sympathetic Shakur is trying to keep it together and also seems to feel some form of guilt over the crimes that he and his partner have committed. As is often the case in films like this, the deeper the two cops get in trying to cover up their crime, the more their world seems to fall apart. Real criminals that they have arrested are acquitted because they have used the stolen evidence in other cases, some of their phony witnesseses are buckling under pressure, and the man who they try to stick the murder charge to turns out to be more than what they expected. Through it all, Belushi and Shakur have a real chemistry and the audience often finds itself rooting for these guys who are in all honesty, complete jerks.

Many of Shakur's hardcore fans often praise his performance, which is real good, but Belushi is the one carrying the team here. Not to say that Shakur does not give an excellent performance but his role is less-defined so without Belushi, the film doesn't work. He is the one we all love to hate here. A scumbag homicide cop with homicidal tendencies who seems to keep testing his luck in every area. Shakur is more or less the guilty conscience of the duo. The more the story progresses, the worse he seems to feel about what he has done.

The interesting thing is how Shakur's character compliments Belushi's. Once the two are no longer functioning as a unit, Belushi is lost in our eyes. The little sympathy we felt for his character is gone. The way that he distances himself from Shakur is one of the few noble things that he does in the film but unfortunately, without his partner to save him, he is beyond help. He is now just a renegade without a purpose and we as an audience know that wherever he is going, he is in for some trouble.

"Gang Related" is not an excellent movie. The story seems to wear thin in some areas but the film's two leads really keep this one above water. James Belushi turns in one of his best perfomances in some time in a role much different from what you're used to seeing from him. Shakur, in somewhat of a low-key performance is absolutely brilliant. Many people criticize rappers for trying to pick up a second paycheck without mastering the acting craft. Shakur is so natural as an actor, you would think it was his first love. It is a shame that Tupac never got an opportunity to be all that he could as far as acting goes. "Related" is not exactly an original concept but it is worth the time spent as it takes you for a nice little ride. On a side note, the Pac-influenced soundtrack of the film also helped give it a more professional feel.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gang Related- A Last Performance., June 14, 2009

By 

Jose Lopez "Jose Lopez" (Miami,Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Gang Related [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This movie came out after Pac's Death, If I recall correctly. Good Movie, Good Acting, Belushi does a Good Job. A Sinister role he plays. James Earl Jones is in there as well. long movie. but Worth watching.