There are few action films and crime thrillers as socially relevant and powerful as 1991's "New Jack City," a gritty and violent portrait of America's so-called "war on drugs" during the United States' "crack epidemic" (the mid-to-late '80s and early '90s). Stylishly directed by veteran film actor Mario Van Peebles (in his directorial debut), the film also makes an explicit indictment of the Reagan-era policies of the time that led to the decimation of many of America's already-crime-ridden, low-income inner-city neighborhoods, and for violent drug kingpins to set up shop and exploit the heavily impoverished, desperate masses (many of whom lived in largely-minority communities and seemed neglected by the larger part of society as a whole).

The film also explicitly condemns crack cocaine and it doesn't shy away from the devastating effects it has not just on the people who are many times hopelessly addicted to it, but for the communities, as well. Using the ultra-bloody gangster classic "Scarface" (1983) as a foundation for its story and as a cinematic backdrop, "New Jack City" details the rise of a ruthless, megalomaniacal drug lord named Nino Brown (a truly effective Wesley Snipes), and his crime syndicate the Cash Money Brothers (CMB) as they quickly and assuredly take over New York City's drug trade and begin flooding the streets with crack. Snipes's portrayal of Nino Brown makes him one of the most insidiously vile movie characters in the history of the medium - a brilliant embodiment of pure evil, viciousness, and megalomania.

Aligned against him, are New York City's finest. Maverick police commander Stone (Van Peebles himself), a determined New York City narcotics cop, has a plan. He realizes that the CMB is too large and sophisticated an operation to take down using traditional methods - they need something else, newer, better, more radical measures of law enforcement. He explains to his superiors, "You want me to take down a new-jack drug kingpin, I'm going to need some new-jack cops!" He finds his new-breed of cops in a pair of outcast narcotics detectives - Scotty Appleton (rapper Ice T, in his first major film role) and Nick Peretti (Judd Nelson), who both have strong personal motivations for wanting to go to battle against Nino Brown and the CMB. And so the war is on...

"New Jack City" was an important film for its time, for its highlighting of the plight of inner-city communities decimated by crack cocaine during the crack epidemic, and the almost-futile attempts by the police to rid the streets of its influence. "New Jack City" in a way was very much like a 101-minute CNN expose, since it succeeded in bringing greater attention to a topic often neglected (or poorly reported or simply glossed over by) mainstream news media before and after the time of the film's release. Like Chuck D (lead rapper for rap group Public Enemy) said a while back about rap music, "Hip-hop is the black CNN," "New Jack City" in many ways fulfills the same purpose.

The acting performances are flawless from all involved. I already mentioned the powerful Wesley Snipes as the main antagonist Nino Brown. But Ice T turns in what is probably his most famous acting performance - before the TV series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," at least - as the fiercely committed Scotty Appleton (I also single out his acting because he's also one of my favorite rappers of all time). Judd Nelson's Nick Peretti works as a perfect foil to Scotty, as the other unconventional cop chosen to fight the CMB and who also has a tragic story of his own for wanting to bring down Nino Brown and ridding the streets of crack. Allen Payne delivers a careful performance as Nino Brown's childhood friend and second-in-command Gee Money. And comedian Chris Rock eschews comedy in favor of a more serious dramatic performance as a crack addict-turned-police informant named Pookie.

I'm 27 right now, going on 28 in September. I should also state that I'm a black male, and I live in suburbia - far, far away from the dangerous inner city where this film's story takes place. When I was younger, I was often forbidden by my loving, over-protective parents from ever watching "New Jack City"; such shielding of me from such a grim reality is understandable, but unfortunately I also find it highly regrettable. Now that I'm older, I see that this is one of the most powerful, and essential, police-action movies ever made - because it highlights the oft-overlooked devastation that crack cocaine had during that time in low-income, largely minority communities - in other words, people like me but who were way less fortunate than me, and that saddens me deeply. So there's an emotional investment in here for me, too.

See "New Jack City" and be prepared to be blown away.

8/10