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The Movie:
Writer/rapper/actor/producer Ice Cube showed remarkable promise with his comedic performance in 1995's "Friday", keeping up well with the far more rapid-fire comedy of co-star Chris Tucker. In 1999, Cube gained deserving recognition for his dramatic performance in "Three Kings". Given the kind of potential he's shown throughout the years as an actor, it's a little disapointing to see him in something like "All About the Benjamins". While the actor does share co-screenwriter credit, the movie itself is another overstylized ride through familiar ground.
Cube plays bounty hunter Bucum (get it?), out to get Reggie Wright (Mike Epps, Cube's co-star from the "Friday" movies), a con-artist who runs away from Bucum and finds himself a witness to a diamond heist. When Bucum finally catches up to the con, the two decide to team up to try and swipe the diamonds from the crooks. Beyond that, Reggie's lost his girlfriend's winning lottery ticket, which was in the wallet he dropped at the scene of the crime.
"Benjamins" remains a very 90's buddy comedy, complete with the usual action sequences and one-liners. While some of the one-liners are decent (the two leads reportedly improvised heavily), the action sequences are not terribly inspired, as the two lead characters face off against stereotypical villians. In an attempt to add some more energy to some of the film's moments, director Kevin Bray throws about every visual trick in the book on-screen, but it comes off as distracting rather than fast, crisp movement.
"All About the Benjamins" offered a few decent laughs, but nothing much new. Hopefully Ice Cube's upcoming films will be of more interest.
The DVD
VIDEO: "All About the Benjamins" is presented by New Line Home Entertainment in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen. This being a New Line title, expectations do run high and, as per usual, expectations are largely met. Glen McPherson's cinematography is presented well, appearing crisp and well-defined throughout. While there's not a strong sense of depth to the image, detail still remained strong.
The only flaw that I occasionally noticed was edge enhancement; while not consistently visible, there were a few scenes where a mild amount was spotted. The print used is generally pristine, aside from a couple of little specks. No pixelation or other faults were spotted.
Colors remained beautifully saturated and warm throughout, with no smearing or other faults. Flesh tones also looked natural, as well. Not without a few concerns, but other than that, another fine New Line effort.
SOUND: "All About the Benjamins" is presented by New Line Home Entertainment in Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1. The hip-hop heavy soundtrack is put to excellent use, as the surrounds heavily reinforce the tunes, while there's a heavy helping of low-bass to supplement it. Surrounds occasionally offer a few sound effects now and then, but the dialogue and music are the main focus.
MENUS: Full-motion animated menus using images from the film as backgrounds.
EXTRAS:
Commentary: This is a commentary from director Kevin Bray and producer Matt Alvarez. Both offer a fairly uneventful commentary, chatting about some of the smaller details of what went into each sequence. Some minor pauses of silence are scattered throughout the track.
Documentaries: The disc offers four documentaries: "From Videos To Featurettes" (14:20), which features interviews with Bray and other directors from a music video background; "Strictly Business" (12:25), a general "making of"; "Miami Nice" (8:35), which focuses on the production design and "All About The Stunts" (7:45).
Also: An okay gag reel, 2 trailers (5.1 audio), theatrical press kit, deleted scene and DVD-ROM material, including web-link and screenplay viewer.
Final Thoughts: An average actioner with a good performance by Ice Cube, "All About the Benjamins" has a few moments, but could also have been a lot better. Action fans may want to check it out New Line's very nice DVD as a rental, while those who are already fans of the picture should seek a purchase.
Film Grade
The Film **
DVD Grades
Video 89/B+
Audio: 89/B+
Extras: 82/B
Menus: 85/B
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