Waist Deep review

“You bring me my money, you get your arm back!” Yep, life’s tough in the neck of the ’hood run by Meat (hip-hopper The Game), the machete-waving kingpin who’s kidnapped the son of Waist Deep’s ex-con hero (Tyrese Gibson). Yet whether it’s gunning for gangsta grit, social crit (an anti-crime rally) or insight into African-American single-fatherhood (à la Gibson’s Baby Boy), the result is schlock.

Should we have expected anything more from Vondie Curtis-Hall, the man who brought us Glitter? Well, yeah, since he also directed Gridlock’d. But there’s little hope of keeping it real as Gibson and hottie hustler Meagan Good (Brick) embark on a ransom-raising crime spree that earns them comparisons to Bonnie and Clyde. Dick and Jane’s more like it, though. No, you can’t take this tosh seriously, but it’s not much fun either, the against-the-clock action so sloppily staged you’ll be eyeing the time yourself.