Rated R
Reviewed by: Jim
March 2, 2000

3 Strikes tries to make a California law, enacted by Governor Pete Wilson which mandates a sentence of at least 25 years for a third felony offense, into a politically powered urban comedy on the order of, say, Friday.  But it fails miserably in its attempts to make the detrimental effects on the black man funny at all.  Writer/director D. J. Pooh, who co-wrote Friday, stinks up the screen throughout in this pathetic, exhausting tale set in South Central L.A. with the flavorful hip-hop techno-rap tracks overwhelming a fragmented, absurd picture.

This intended humorous take on one's bad timing after spending time in the L.A. County Jail, exposes Phoo's weaknesses as a helmer, as most of the scenes involving the newly-released, soon pursued by the indifferent, care free L.A.P.D. (like Robert Douglas, a bragging and whining Brian Hooks, who's been in real movies like Bulworth, and even the dissed Beloved) are cut short and devoid of any meaning.

A stolen car leads to a silly shoot out that shows L.A.'s finest as eager to pull out and discharge their pistols.  3 Strikes needed Ice Cube, but it calls itself out fast.