WAIST DEEP follows a tried and true formula: Ex-con's son is kidnapped by his ex-partner in crime, a ransom is demanded, the ex-con works diligently to put together the ransom while doing his best to undermine his old partner, and there's a final showdown between them. The kid is cute, the ex-con is an impressive slab of beef, the former partner is suitably menacing and fugly beyond belief, and of course there's a pretty female to help things along. The formula works most of the time, but the movie is so predictable that in the end I asked myself why I bothered to rent it. There is a heckuva car chase near the end that sort of makes up for a dull middle. The movie, which could have just as easily starred Bruce Willis or Mel Gibson in his prime, clearly was aimed at an urban audience even though it was heavily marketed as a mainstream flick. That's why I rented it. It could have been a lot worse, I suppose.

In South Los Angeles, while bringing his beloved son Junior (H. Hunter Hall) back home from school, the paroled ex-convicted O2 (Tyrese Gibson) promises his son that he would always come back to him and never leave him alone. However, his car is hijacked and Junior is kidnapped. Without any lead, O2 forces the street vendor Coco (Meagan Good) to help him to find where his car might have been sent for disassembling. Meanwhile, O2's addicted brother Lucky (Larenz Tate) discovers that the cruel leader of the Outlaw Syndicate, the drug lord Meat (The Game),is keeping the boy arrested in a room and asking a ransom of US$ 100,000.00 that he believes O2 have from an old heist. O2 and Coco plot a scheme to put the pimp P-Money and Meat against each other and steal their money.

"Waist Deep" is another good movie of gangsters in Los Angeles that never disappoints. The story is full of action and violent with excellent direction of Vondie Curtis-Hall, the cast has great performances and Tyrese Gibson and Meagan Good show a wonderful chemistry. It seems that there are viewers in IMDb that do not like this genre, but spend their time watching this type of movie apparently just to write bad reviews. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Ruas Sangrentas – O Acerto Final" ("Bloody Streets – The Final Payback")

I have to admit I am more than biased. I thought I had seen this movie before, but turns out I hadn't. Which surprises me considering that Meagan Good is in it. And if you hadn't guessed why or what my summary line meant, I reckon now you do.

Of course that is also where my bias lies. I am quite smitten by her and even if the movie was bad, I might not have rated it below a 5. Just because of her! I reckon some may feel the same with Tyrese starring in this, so I guess the pairing is fitting to a degree (and the subsequent love story that develops). It is quite over the top and there is slang that you'll either accept for what it is (hood talk) or you feel it might be a bit forced.

Overall a decent thriller, that is predictable and flawed, but nice to watch. Even with that ending ... I guess I liked it, but come on ... well anyway, Meagan Good is in it!