Critic's Grade: A+

A quietly powerful and brooding piece of cinema, "Boyz N the Hood" remains one of the most provocative and hardhitting examinations of life in urban black neighborhoods ruled over by poverty, gunfire, and endless crime. Set in the danger-ridden streets of a lower-class Los Angeles housing community, the movie follows the evolution of a trio of childhood friends who react differently to their surroundings. In adulthood, we learn that Darin "Doughboy" Baker (Ice Cube) has done time for dealing narcotics; having recently been released, he remains unambitious and attuned to the shady underbelly of the neighborhood. His brother, Ricky (Morris Chestnut), has had his share of self-manufactured problems, the result of teen fatherhood; still, he strives to complete his SAT tests and make a life for himself by going to college. And then there's Ricky's best friend, Tre (Cuba Gooding Jr.), who with the influential life lessons impressed upon him by his father (Laurence Fishburne), has the knowledge of what it takes to escape the oppression of one's surroundings and become something better than what society pre-ordains.

Think of it as "Mean Streets" for the African-American set, an expos? on the struggles of a people for whom violence is an everyday fact of life. There are moments in this movie that are as true as life itself, all stemming from writer/director John Singleton's own experiences growing up in South Central as the child of unmarried but protective parents. There is a sense of familiarity with subject here that perhaps another director could not have achieved; that Singleton is able to shape the hopes and dreams of his characters around the possibility that they can be shattered at any time lends a powerful impact to the proceedings, ending with a conclusion that's a real eye-opener. The performances are all first-rate, especially from the front-running trio of Gooding Jr, Ice Cube, and Chestnut, who all got their start with this picture and all of whom, for the most part, have been unable to top their work here since. Even in the passage of 12 years, "Boyz N the Hood" remains a work of great importance, and the perfect compliment to its tagline: "Increase the Peace."

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