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The film chronicles the life of Anthony Curtis, focusing on his teenage years as a high school graduate and his experiences during the Vietnam War. As he returns home, he has to adjust to life after the war while trying to support his family, but the chance of a better life may involve crime and bloodshed.
Like those overreaching sophomore term papers we can all laugh at now, this disappointing film may free the Hughes brothers to move on to fresher, more inspired work.
May 20, 2003
rec.arts.movies.reviews
Talent of Hughes brothers deserves viewer's attention even when their results don't meet such high standards.
September 23, 2003
Ozus' World Movie Reviews
The intense and excessive climactic set piece caper scene is the only true highlight in a superficial film.
There are intriguing aspects to this yarn, and the brothers can choreograph a scene, but you get the impression that they learned all they know from other movies, the blood and guts is gratuitous...
Made with fluid skill and a passion for storytelling, its tale of how the Vietnam War and American society affect a black Marine remains accessible while confounding expectations.
Significant as both history and film art, this gloomy tale has no "convenient" villains and refuses to indulge in stereotypes, instead focusing on larger forces, such as racism and political apathy.
It's an overly ambitious effort that strains to work as a coming-of-age drama, a 1960s period piece and a searing comment on the way African American GIs went largely unappreciated for their war efforts.
What emerges is an uneasy blend of didacticism and juiced-up bloodletting (the brothers don't know when to stop with the exploding squibs) that bury the film's message and its good intentions.
May 12, 2001
Boxoffice Magazine
Unfortunately, the filmmakers were overzealous in trying to cover a variety of issues, leaving the story choppy and without resolution in places.
Platoon lite with a bitter ending that doesn't work in its favor...
July 10, 2007
Variety
Dead Presidents may eventually box itself into a narrative dead end, but its muscular engagement of weighty themes and explosive situations makes it a powerful drama.