History Film / MenaceIISociety

** Fans of the [[{{Film/Friday}}]] trilogy will recognize Pinky as Chauncey.

** Fans of the [[{{Friday}}]] trilogy will recognize Pinky as Chauncey.

** Fans of the [[Friday]] trilogy will recognize Pinky as Chauncey.

The story centers around a street life thug named Caine and his friend [[HairTriggerTemper O-Dog]] living in the streets of Crenshaw. Caine is a thug with a heart, and the opportunity to succeed, if the streets will let him. With a father that dealt heroin and a mother who was addicted to it, he had no chance as a child, and went to live with his grandparents. After graduating high school, a feat that none of his friends pulled off, he had choices to make, and although his heart was in the right place, he was stuck in the wrong time. Watch as he struggles with car jackings, murdered friends, taking care of a single mother and her son, and a question that burns in the back of his mind, asked by his grandfather. 'Do you want to live or die?' is the simple choice his grandfather put out to him...but the answer doesn't come until it's too late. A few critics consider this a cynical [[{{Deconstruction}} antithesis]] to ''BoyzNTheHood''.

* DarkerAndEdgier: This film is far more violent, dramatic, downbeat, darker and edgier than ''BoyzNTheHood''. The film has almost no lighter moments, mainly for the ending.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Caine is a much more of a NiceGuy compared to his friends O-Dog and A-Wax.

* VillainProtagonist: O-Dog.

** A-Watts also counts.

* VillainProtagonist: Caine and O-Dog.

* AffablyEvil: The Hispanic gangsters could also count, because they did not react aggressively against Caine.
** O-Dog himself could be, [[FauxAffablyEvil although it is quite limited]] because during the film, he gets several KickTheDog moments.

---> In the [[{{Bowdlerize}} Bowdlerised]] TV version it's "Playing House."
* [[spoiler:DownerEnding]]
* DyingDream: At the end of the film, Caine is thinking about his life as [[spoiler: he lies there dying]], and it's at this point that we realize (if you consider this interpretation of the film) that [[spoiler: the ENTIRE film we've just seen has been Caine's life passing before his eyes, as he lies dying.]]

* HairTriggerTemper: O-Dog, who could accurately be described as a black, slightly more trigger-happy version of [[GoodFellas Tommy DeVito]]. After killing the said AsianStoreOwner couple mentioned above, he steals the surveillance tape and proudly plays it for his friends on numerous occasions, much to Caine's chagrin.

* [[spoiler: HeelFaceDoorSlam: By the end Caine wishes to straighten his life and start anew by going to Atlanta. However he gets into a fight with Ilena's cousin which reaches back to his grandparents who promptly kick him out of the house. On the day he's meant to leave, the cousin gathers a bunch of cronies and do a drive by. Promptly killing Caine.]]
* [[spoiler: HeroicSacrifice: Caine does at least manage to save Anthony during the drive by shooting.]]

* KarmaHoudini: The gangsters who shot Caine and one of his friends in a drive-by at the end of the film.

* [[spoiler: LunaticLoophole: Almost every main character, both sympathetic and not, dies by the end...except for O-Dog. Though at the least he does get arrest, so that something.]]

* VillainProtagonist: O-Dog.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The role of O-Dog was originally going to be played by TupacShakur, which Tupac wanted to play the role with instead of the role of Sharif, and Spice-1 as the role of Caine, but was both given to Larenz Tate and Tyrin Turner, instead. This lead Tupac to assault one of the HughesBrothers, going so far to even admitting it on [[{{MTV}} Yo! MTV Raps]], leading him to get arrested.

* DarkerAndEdgier: This film is far more violent, dramatic, downbeat, darker and edgier than ''BoyzNTheHood''. The film has almost no lighter moments, mainly for the ending. You can see that [[FantasticRacism even the police that are around this area are not nice guys.]]

** The police as well.

* DarkerAndEdgier: This film is far more violent, dramatic, downbeat, darker and edgier than ''BoyzNTheHood''. The film has almost no lighter moments, mainly for the ending. You can see that [[FantasticRacismeven the police that are around this area are not nice guys.]]

* AffablyEvil: Caine.
** The Hispanic gangsters could also count, because they did not react aggressively against Caine.

* DarkerAndEdgier: This film is far more violent, dramatic, downbeat, darker and edgier than ''BoyzNTheHood''. The film has almost no lighter moments, mainly for the ending.

* EvilVersusEvil: Is a film about of gang-bangers.

* CrapsackWorld: Watts. This city is not a lovely place.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Unlike ''BoyzNTheHood'', the violence in this film is much more increased and move more to the drama. Also, get more TearJerker moments, much more graphic violence and downbeat moments.

* DarkerAndEdgier: Unlike ''BoyzNTheHood'', the violence in this film is much more increased and move more to the drama. Also, get more TearJerker moments and much more graphic violence.

* BlackAndBlackMorality: Almost rival street gangs in the film have this moral, and nobody seems to be less worse than another.
** Dear God, this moral can even see applied in the Police guarding the neighborhood.

* CrapsackWorld

* [[spoiler: HeelFaceDoorSlam: By the end Caine wishes to straighten his life and start anew by going to Atlanta. However he gets into a fight with IIena's cousin which reaches back to his grandparent who promptly kick him out of the house. On the day he's meant to leave, the cousin gathers a bunch of cronies and do a drive by. Promptly killing Caine.]]

* [[spoiler: LunaticLoophole: Almost every main character, both sympathetic and not, dies by the end...except for O-Dog.]]

* KarmaHoudini: The gangsters who shot John and one of his friends in a drive-by at the end of the film.

* BlackAndBlackMorality: ALL rival street gangs in the film have this moral, and nobody seems to be less worse than another.

* VillainProtagonist: Caine and O-Dog.

* SociopathicHero: O-Dog, though it's pretty hard to define him as "heroic".

* [[spoiler: {{Heroic Sacrifice}}: Caine does at least manage to save Anthony during the drive by shooting.]]
* HeyItsThatGuy: A-Wax is played by rapper [[GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas MC Eiht]], and the detective who questions Caine is played by [[Film/{{Predator}} Bill Duke.]]
** Also, Caine's grandfather is [[PutneySwope Putney Swope.]]
** Rapper Too $hort plays "Lew Loc."

* OneSceneWonder: ''SamuelLJackson'' plays Caine's dad in a flashback. He's quite a bit more {{Badass}} here than in ''Film/JurassicPark'', which was released the same year.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The role of O-Dog was originally going to be played by TupacShakur, which Tupac wanted to play the role with instead of the role of Sharif, and Spice-1 as the role of Caine, but was both given to Larenz Tate and Tyrin Turner, instead. This lead Tupac to assault one of the HughesBrothers, going so far to even admitting it on [[{{MTV}} Yo! MTV Raps]], leading him to get arrested.