Two Arkansas firemen, Vince and Don, get hold of a map that leads to a cache of stolen gold in an abandoned factory in East St. Louis. What they don't know is that the factory is on the turf of a local gang, who come by to execute one of their enemies. Vince sees the shooting, the gang spots Vince, and extended mayhem ensues. As Vince and Don try to escape, gang leader King James argues with his subordinate Savon about how to get rid of the trespassers.
Writing
Bennett and Hill's crackling macho dialogue
Acting
Ice-T and Ice Cube's genuinely magnetic villainy
Direction
Hill treating concrete ruins like Monument Valley
Director
Walter Hill
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Released months after the LA riots, studio briefly considered pulling it; Ice-T publicly defended the film as 'just a movie.'
Hill originally developed this as a western called 'The Looters'—the final warehouse standoff preserves that DNA shot for shot.
US
