When I first saw the preview for BELLY, I thought it was going to be another one of those violent and predictable gang banger movies. But Belly is way more than just a rap video/gang banger movie. Yes, the elements of both are there which only add to an even better storyline. Because Hype Williams is a director of music videos helps him incorporate those styles into the film which are unbelievable.

Although it may not seem so, the acting by DMX, Nas, and Method Man was real and well done. Unlike many other films of its genre, BELLY actually maintains a positive message throughout the film and gives a sign of hope rather than doom. The combination of superb camera work, slammin soundtrack, and complex story made it a must-see in my opinion.

It does contain endless scenes of numbing violence but that only adds to the strong reality of the film. I hope to see more from Hype in the future, looking forward to it!

I will say this: I'm glad I watched till the end because it was sketchy there for a second. For a good 80% of the movie I was watching one extended rap video. Take 90% of the hottest rap songs and make them into a movie and that's what "Belly" was for the majority of the film. Robbing. Killing. Selling drugs. Smoking weed. Womanizing. Glorifying money. And all of your traditional rap-song set pieces were there too: nice cars, nice homes, jewelry, and an occasional trip to the ghetto to show authenticity.

Finally, they got to a message beyond all of that nonsense. The pervasive message was knowledge of self which should equate to abandoning all of the social and physical poisons out there for one to forget knowledge of self.

The message is good, but is that what remains? You spent 80 minutes of a 90 minute movie showing the glamor of a crooked lifestyle and the abundant ignorance of just about every character without there being a sane or righteous voice. Then, in the last ten minutes you add a moral compass to offset the superfluous misguided activity of before. Is anyone going to remember that the movie was about more than "gettin' money?" I hope so.

Enjoyed all the great acting by all the actors and there were some real hot to trot gals that would knock your eyeballs out of their sockets. The gals and guys would love each other one moment and then in the next scene you would have a complete horror film. The guys and gals did a good deal of trading off lovers and there was plenty of laughs to go around. The gangsters all played their roles to perfection and it was a very entertaining film. However, I can see why some viewers would find this film boring and way too long. The producers and directors could very well have cut out about 45 minutes of the film and it quite possibly could still have been able to tell the complete story. It is all up to the VIEWER!