Hip-Hop Task Force (Video 2005) Poster

(2005 Video)

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1/10
Less A Film And More A War Crime!
IkanoKato18 March 2006
Again the triple tragedy of the easy availability of miniDV cameras, desktop editing, and the low standards of the Urban genre is again unleashed upon the world. Little more than a bunch of random, poorly edited scenes this film makes the average summer vacation video seem like a work of unparalleled cinematic genius. The people behind this film (not to mention the distributors) are either the worst kind of cynics or mentally challenged if they think this worthy of any attention or praise whatsoever. With bad acting, bad directing, and bad everything, this film doesn't lower the bar for Urban cinema, it pounds it into the ground and hammers it six feet under. Utter, utter, UTTTER crap.
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1/10
This is just bad.
Oscarsse2 February 2006
I like underground, independent, low budget films, but this is just plain crap.

The acting is at best lousy, the editing and direction is on the brink of doing it to a comedy with too long shots, absurd clips and a score that seems to be made by some total rookie that got himself a keyboard and a sampler last week.

Since I mostly write reviews for a Swedish site (filmdelta) I seldom write anything here on IMDb, but this is a movie that I feel I have to warn people about.

According to the rules of Leonard Maltin, I always give a movie 15 minutes, but the production at large was so bad that I stopped the movie at after 15 minutes. Its highly unlikely that anyone else would even dream to see this movie till the end.
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1/10
the worst film i have seen this year
foyalution9 February 2007
its pretty sad that this movie; wait, did i say movie i meant thing could only be ranked from 1, in a perfect world the ranking scale would exclusively have started at -10 and the people responsible for this offering would be delivering pizzas. this is vile ,incoherent drivel. this is absolute hogwash bad directing, ill conceived cinematography, clumsy editing all these are elements that make for a dismal cinematic experience and all of which are abundantly present in this movie. I am a generally positive person but i just couldn't find a single redeeming quality. This piece takes itself too seriously relying on performances, which we can't blame the director failing to extricate but, these actors just aren't capable of anything beyond mumbling their lines.
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2/10
String of Music Inserts
nammage2 February 2017
Warning: Spoilers
While the entire songs don't play out, probably because the average rap song is five minutes long, it is a huge part of this movie. I understand (maybe) the reasoning behind it; they can't release Soundtracks so they play as much as the song for people to get interested in them — or they're produced by musicians. Either way, they sometimes come off as distractions.

Now this film opens up about some secret task forces infiltrating record companies based on criminal activities after, during, or before the deaths of Tupac Shakur, and the Notorious B.I.G. A cop goes undercover to find out what criminal activity is happening and bring the bad guy/s down.

The acting is poor and at times unbearable to listen to. The conversations, at times, are bland and nonsensical. One scene is rapping, which is fine because some of it is actually good, then it's just people talking about this deal, when am I getting paid, or some nonsense. While there's sense in these things separately, and perhaps even conjointly it's just the way this film is set up is just chaotic editing.

The romance part was also nonsensical. Right from the the beginning they just turned it into a montage with an R&B song playing. Then we go to some screaming married couple yelling about some nonsense about, "Why do you have to be a crook?" and it gets so overly dramatic with physical movements taking one back to the Silent film era. And it just goes on endlessly. Or seems that way. It's like each scene they have to keep stretching further and further out in dialogue.

I can't fault the direction in the sense it goes to one scene to the next in normal progression but the acting is poor and the writing is just if not more poor. If you actually watch the whole thing, as I did, it really is just a vehicle in promoting the various songs throughout. Sometimes they're in montages, or fight scenes, or in studio etc., but that's why they are a distraction because the music is so loud that you can't hear what's going on, and despite what some think in making these films: we like hearing the film. We're watching the film for the film, not the music unless the film is a Musical, otherwise we want to watch the film not be distracted by loud music, good or not.

Overall, it's watchable but the montages, the songs louder than dialogue or action, and some of the nonsensical drama and romance just downgrades this to an independent film with little to no point but promoting the music. It's actually about a serious issue but that issue is back burner to the music.

As an aside: the worst thing about this film, and just makes it overly silly and mundane is the gun battle toward the end. Mainly right when it starts and everyone "strikes a pose". I kid you not, that's exactly what it looked like. And also, you know how bad guys tilt their guns to the side in films? Well, apparently cops do that, too. At least in this film they do.
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10/10
Intelligent script, fun movie
HoustonKing7 March 2006
This one of very few films that are within this genre that actually had an intelligent script and good direction. Although this genre has been worn out and over saturated with terrible films, This film was surprisingly good with an intricate plot and great characters. The film obviously was made on a small budget, but it's easily overlooked by having a remarkable script. This film explores the Hip Hop Unit that investigates the hip hop industry and its rumored links to organized crime. The film follows a detective and his quest to bring down a certain hip hop mogul. Good direction, great story, do recommend it. I'd like to see what this kid can do with a large budget. Check it out.
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10/10
What A Great Movie!
lyonskenya17 November 2005
Do you like action movies? Do you like drama movies? Do you like romantic movies? If so, this movie is for you!! It has all three. All three drama, action, and romance in one movie. It has good acting. The actors delivers their lines with great emotion and passion. Great cinematography. The look of the film is outstanding. Excellent directing. I love the story line. I think many would like the story line, too. This movie is a winner! It won the "Best Feature Film" at the "Atlantic Hip Hop Film Festival". What an achievement! This independent movie raises the bar for other independent films. I believe that people will be able to relate to this movie in many ways. This movie is a must see!! Go and check it out for yourself!
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8/10
Urban Cinema done well!
JoanGirl26 March 2007
As stupid as the movie sounds, Hip Hop Task Force isn't that bad of a movie. Its just that, like Hostile Takedown (released a week before this), the plot of Hip Hop Task Force has been done better a thousand times before. Speaking of it in the context of direct to video urban cinema, Hip Hop Task Force is near the top of the game. Aside from some bad dubbing and CGI, Task Force is competently produced, features characters that are actually distinct, and has an easily followed story that unravels in an unspectacular, but not offensive, fashion.

I hope this sells well enough to warrant a Hip Hop Task Force 2, which is bound to focus on another detective infiltrating the rap business to find out who shot an up and coming rapper in the face, as that will be too good to pass up.
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