Gang Related, alternatively known as Criminal Intent, is a 1997 American action crime thriller film written and directed by Jim Kouf starring James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Dennis Quaid, Lela Rochon, David Paymer and James Earl Jones. The film revolves around two corrupt cops (Belushi and Shakur) who attempt to frame a homeless man (Quaid) for the murder of an undercover DEA agent that they themselves had actually killed.
Synopsis
Vice squad detectives Frank Divinci and Jake Rodriguez set up narcotics runner Lionel Hudd in a bogus drug trafficking deal; they execute Hudd and pocket his money. Having recovered the cocaine Hudd purchased from them, the detectives return that to the evidence room at their headquarters. When Divinci and Rodriguez find out Hudd was actually a "deep cover" DEA agent — because Hudd's partner, Richard Simms, drops by their precinct for help sniffing out the killers — they resolve to pin the murder on any likely suspect they can find.
The detectives finally frame a homeless drunk named "Joe Doe", by tricking him into confessing to the crime. Needing a witness, Divinci and Rodriguez press stripper Cynthia Webb — with whom Divinci has been cheating on his wife — into picking Joe out of a police lineup. It turns out Joe is actually William Dane McCall, a physician hailing from a wealthy family, who has been missing and presumed dead for years; the family's lawyer, Arthur Baylor, is brought in to defend him. At McCall's trial, he is promptly shown to be innocent. The case falls apart and McCall is released.
Rodriguez records a conversation with Divinci in which the latter admits to Hudd's killing and McCall's setup. In response, Divinci forces Rodriguez out of the car at gunpoint. Returning to his apartment, Rodriguez is met by his bookie Vic, and by Vic's bodyguard, "Mr. Cutlass Supreme". They murder Rodriguez over an outstanding gambling debt. Investigating Rodriguez's death, the police find the damaged tape which contains Divinci's confession. Baylor questions Webb about Hudd's murder, playing back the plan by Divinci to kill her as a loose end. Webb tells Baylor everything she knows about Divinci's crimes. Divinci hides out in Webb's apartment and shoots her for betraying him. Webb is rushed to the hospital; her gurney is wheeled past Doctor McCall. Divinci arranges for a limousine ride to the airport. The driver is revealed to be recently-acquitted serial killer Clyde David Dunner, who murders Divinci and abandons the limousine in an alley.
Cast
James Belushi as Detective Franklin "Frank" Divinci
Tupac Shakur as Detective Jacob "Jake" Rodriguez
James Handy as Captain Henderson
Deborah Rennard as Caroline Divinci
Lela Rochon as Cynthia Webb
Dennis Quaid as William McCall / Joe Doe
Tom Ormeny as Nathan McCall
James Earl Jones as Arthur Baylor
David Paymer as Elliot Goff
Gary Cole as DEA Agent Richard Simms
Wendy Crewson as District Attorney Helen Eden
Terrence C. Carson as Manny Ladrew
Brad Greenquist as Assistant District Attorney Richard Stein
Kool Mo Dee as DEA Agent Lionel Hudd
Robert LaSardo as DEA Agent Sarkasian
Gregory Scott Cummins as Clyde David Dunner
Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. as "Cutlass Supreme" Perry Anzilotti as Vic, The Bookie
Production
Writer/director Jim Kouf recalled in a 2018 interview where he got the inspiration for the film:
In a previous interview, Kouf had discussed working with Tupac Shakur:
The film was shot over a period of a month in August 1996 and wrapped filming just two weeks before Tupac Shakur’s death on September 13, 1996. It marked his final film appearance and would be released a year after his death.
Reception
Gang Related opened in North America on October 8, 1997 in 1,260 theaters. It made $2,443,237 on its opening weekend with an average of $1,939 per theater, ranking at No. 10 at the box office. The film ended up earning $5,906,773. The film received mixed reviews, and has the rating of 50% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 20 reviews, with an average rating of 5.4 out of 10. On Metacritic — which assigns a weighted mean score — the film has a score of 49 out of 100 based on 28 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale.
The film was released in the United Kingdom on August 14, 1998, and opened on #11. Roger Ebert appraised the film more positively in an episode of At the Movies: