King of the Avenue is a movie about a boy being brought up in the drug game by his ruthless and successful step father. He inherits the game after his step-father’s murder and plays it better than most. As a measure of success he pursues the title of “King of the Ave” but a series of misfortunes cause him to make a deal with the devil, played convincingly by Esai Morales, who resurrects his stepfather with the soul of a ruthless and unrelenting demon.
This movie is for all intents and purposes a “B” movie. It’s low budget. It’s about the hood and the drug game, and it has only one or two recognizable actors. That being said, I found it to be more enjoyable than I expected. Ving Rhames was disgustingly evil and every evil act he did was as fun to watch as it was out of bounds. Another thing that made this movie interesting is how it portrayed the drug game. Everyone who comes from the hood has their idea on how the drug game should be played and the way the main character played it is how anyone would expect a successful drug dealer would. The way that the devil explained his motivation and actions was surprisingly clear and almost fair. If not for the supernatural element, I’d say this movie almost celebrates the drug game. I enjoyed this film and give it a 3 and a half out of 5 marks. Check out the trailer:
