Movie Review: Set It Off

     After watching the movie Set It Off many years ago, I decided to write my very first blog on this movie. For starters I love this movie. I love the character differences between the main characters I this film. The director for this film, F. Gary Gray, did a wonderful job casting. Actors Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise, were stunning in this film production. Eveyone of these women had a character in the movie that had a story that viewers naturally sympathized with.  It was easy to feel a heavy sense of emotion for each one of the main characters because their characters we're so relatable; each one of them had a sense of grit to them which made their struggle seem so real, and it also made their decisions in this movie seem like the only way out of their life struggles.
     In this movie there are four friends that live in poverty in Los Angeles, California. One friend loses her job, another loses her brother. A son is taken from child protective services by another woman, and the other friend strives to earn more money. Due to their hard life situations the women decide to make to rob several banks within the LA area. The LAPD suspects the women and later finds out that some information that might convict the ladies to the crime they committed. Eventually after the girls rob one of the biggest banks within the area, it draws the police closer to them and ultimately their fate is in jeopardy after that point.
     Jada Pinkett Smith's character, "Stony", was the level headed person within the click that had values for her family and at one point in time herself as well. She was the character that faced a lot of internal struggle within the movie. Due to the hardships that she faced during the movie, you as the viewer felt internally happy for her when she came across true happiness. When it came to Queen Latifah's character, "Cleo", I thought that her persona was needed within the film. Cleo  was the nonchalant girlfriend in the film that had a hood swag to her, and liked to have a good time whether it was listening to music while joy ridding other people's cars, or by smoking marijuana. Cleo was the character that lived in a shell and couldn't see herself leaving where she came from, the projects. If anything Cleo was the most tragic character throughout this whole storyline. "Frankie", Vivica Fox's character was the confident, firy, business woman that wanted to be a career woman. Without Frankie this entire crime committed in the film wouldn't have happened as smoothly as it did. Since Frankie worked in a bank she knew the ins and outs of the system. Frankie's strong will and determination to rob the bank was the start to the huge drama that took place within the film. Last but not least is Kimberly Elises's character. "Tisean" was the soft spirit within the group of girlfriends that kind of dissipated with all of the other girls' strong personalities. However her demeanor starts to change when her son is taken by the CPS and her urgency allows for this to happen. All in all I must say that I was satisfied with all of the girls' characters.