Gang Related

Not that you’d guess it from the video packaging, which sells this as a gritty gangsta drama with the late rapper front and center, but, Gang Related, Shakur’s final film turns out to be a showcase for…Jim Belushi. The latter’s the life of the party as a murderously corrupt cop experiencing Murphy’s Law at its most just; Shakur, getting relatively few scenes, is charismatic but miscast as his worrywart partner. When the scrofulous wino on whom Belushi pins one of his killings turns out to be a missing heir and a brilliant surgeon — and when said wino shaves his beard and turns out to be Dennis Quaid — it’s clear that writer-director Jim Kouf is aiming for pitch-black comedy. By the final scenes, unfortunately, it’s also clear that his aim isn’t very good. C+