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'Illegal Tender'
Rated R for violence, language and some sexuality
Writer-director Franc. Reyes' film (which John Singleton produced) does go over-the-top, but this is certainly an improvement over his 2002 debut, "Empire," which was riddled with drug and gang cliches. At times, it actually defies the stereotypes of Hispanics we so often see on screen, and that's refreshing.
Rick Gonzalez, a dynamic supporting figure for years in movies including "Coach Carter" and "Old School," steps comfortably into this first lead role as Wilson De Leon Jr., a privileged college student who has no clue about his late father's drug-dealing past. (In an opening flashback to the Bronx in 1985, we see dad get double-crossed and gunned down at the exact moment his son is born. How's that for soapy?) Then one day, his mother Millie (the formidable Wanda De Jesus) spots an old foe at the grocery store, freaks out and packs him and his younger brother up to hide again. Wilson is tired of running -- he wants answers to his family's mysterious past -- and gets sucked into avenging his father's death.
• At AMC Lowes Waterfront
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