Set It Off

Directed by F. Gary Gray, Set It Off follows four friends (Jada Pinkett’s Stony, Queen Latifah’s Cleo, Vivica A. Fox’s Frankie, and Kimberly Elise’s T.T.) as they turn to armed robbery after falling on hard times. It’s appealing subject matter that’s employed to slightly erratic yet mostly engrossing effect by Gray, as the filmmaker, working from Takashi Bufford and Kate Lanier’s screenplay, delivers a consistently entertaining endeavor that boasts an appealing blend of drama and action – with the ongoing emphasis on the individual protagonists’ personal lives heightening the impact of the movie’s high-octane episodes and, ultimately, ensuring that the third act’s decidedly tragic bent packs more of a punch than one might’ve anticipated). And although the 123 minute running time is almost undeniably too long, Set It Off‘s plethora of engaging digressions, including Stony’s tentative relationship with a kind banker (Blair Underwood’s Keith) and a spellbinding interlude in which the getaway car drives into a bank, pave the way for a midsection that eventually builds towards a violent, satisfying final stretch – with the end result a stirring piece of work that features, at its core, a quartet of tremendously agreeable performances. (John C. McGinley, as well, offers up a solid turn as the dedicated yet compassionate detective on the heroes’ trail.)

*** out of ****