Ariel Vroom's latest film, "1992," from Lionsgate, takes viewers back to the early nineties. Co-written by Vroom and Sascha Penn from a story by the latter, the film follows ex-convict Mercer (played by Tyrese Gibson) as he strives to rebuild his life and mend his relationship with his son Antione (played by Christopher A'mmanuel). Assisted by retired police officer Joseph (played by Michael Beasley), who also works as a security guard at Mercer's workplace, Mercer navigates through the turbulent 1992 LA uprising following the Rodney King verdict. To keep his son safe, Mercer decides to bring him to work until the situation calms down.
Small-time criminal Riggin (played by Scott Eastwood) and his younger brother Dennis (played by Dylan Arnold) plan a major heist in a different part of town. Despite their complex relationship, they reluctantly involve their cruel father, Lowell (played by Ray Liotta), in their plan to steal valuable platinum-containing catalytic converters from the factory where Mercer works. As tensions escalate in Los Angeles and chaos ensues, both families reach breaking points when their paths intersect.
I first heard about "1992" after the success of "Straight Outta Compton" in 2015. At the time, there were rumors that the film would star Ice Cube and his son O'Shea Jackson Jr. Although those rumors turned out to be untrue, the plot description caught my attention, and now, nine years later, the film is here starring Tyrese Gibson. Despite his off-screen antics and social media behavior, I generally enjoy watching Tyrese on screen because he has a natural screen presence. Additionally, this film marks the last time we will see the legendary Ray Liotta on screen.
"1992" starts out promising enough. It introduces us to Mercer and quickly assures us that he is trying to do right and avoiding the mistakes of his former life. Mercer is a role that Gibson could play in his sleep, as it's primarily an extension of his character from "Waist Deep." One of the most surprising things about the film is that Gibson plays it straight for most of it. I don't even recall his character smiling once in the movie.
The introduction of Ray Liotta's character and his son works well. Scott Eastwood applies his everyman charm, while Dylan Arnold successfully fills the little brother role. However, Liotta's character is a firecracker on screen, delivering effective villain vibes, and he will truly be missed.
Regretfully, though, the script for "1992" comes off as a combo of two scripts. The narrative structure spends little time on the Rodney King verdict, and the riot scenes are amateurish. The script could swap the riot element with a blackout, and we would still have the same film. In one scene where the cops stop Mercer and his son, he doesn't hit the emotional beats that the director was aiming for and instead comes off as forced.
The forced element also carries over to the third act, which aims to turn Tyrese into a John McClane type as he takes out the bad guys individually and sets the stage for a showdown with Liotta's character. Despite commendable performances from Tyrese Gibson and Ray Liotta, "1992" fails to blend multiple genres effectively.
Final Grade: C
"1992" opens in theaters this Friday.
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