The cast is not bad, the direction's not bad, the story mediocre at best.
On the whole, this movie is a pale imitation of the 1994 film 'Fresh':
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109842/
Though of course there are many differences. The original was set in an inner city ghetto, and involved a mostly Black cast (including Samuel L. Jackson, among others.) This one is set in the hillbilly rural South, and involves a very nearly all-White cast. The original protagonist was a boy; here the protagonist is a girl.
However, both movies/plots involve drugs gangs, life circumstances of hopeless, abject despair, and a chess-minded wunderkind emerging against all odds in such a setting, then plotting and manipulating to extricate themselves and their loved ones from the deadly morass, culminating in a violent denouement with numerous "chess pieces" sacrificed along the way.
Yet in my opinion, the original was vastly better in every respect. It had a more nuanced and intelligent plot, deeper character development, fantastic acting, and overall a more realistic setup and more believable motivation. It was bold, poignant, in some ways ground-breaking and in some heart-breaking. It was in fact 'fresh' -- both in concept and by virtue of being the original. And despite its age, it is -- unfortunately -- still as urgently topical in 2014 as it was back in 1994. To anyone contemplating 'Wicked Blood', I would strongly recommend 'Fresh' instead.
On the whole, this movie is a pale imitation of the 1994 film 'Fresh':
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109842/
Though of course there are many differences. The original was set in an inner city ghetto, and involved a mostly Black cast (including Samuel L. Jackson, among others.) This one is set in the hillbilly rural South, and involves a very nearly all-White cast. The original protagonist was a boy; here the protagonist is a girl.
However, both movies/plots involve drugs gangs, life circumstances of hopeless, abject despair, and a chess-minded wunderkind emerging against all odds in such a setting, then plotting and manipulating to extricate themselves and their loved ones from the deadly morass, culminating in a violent denouement with numerous "chess pieces" sacrificed along the way.
Yet in my opinion, the original was vastly better in every respect. It had a more nuanced and intelligent plot, deeper character development, fantastic acting, and overall a more realistic setup and more believable motivation. It was bold, poignant, in some ways ground-breaking and in some heart-breaking. It was in fact 'fresh' -- both in concept and by virtue of being the original. And despite its age, it is -- unfortunately -- still as urgently topical in 2014 as it was back in 1994. To anyone contemplating 'Wicked Blood', I would strongly recommend 'Fresh' instead.