ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, February 14, 1997 TAG: 9702140028
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
"Dangerous Ground" is at best half successful in combining serious political and social commentary with a standard action plot.
Writer-director Darrell Roodt ("Sarafina!," "Cry, the Beloved Country") is comfortable describing the problems faced by post-apartheid South Africa. He also makes effective use of locations from Johannesburg to Soweto and the Sun City resort. Using harsh lighting and a mixture of garish colors and grainy black and white photography, he's careful not to romanticize his story. And it is an often grim story.
On the death of his father, Vusi (executive producer Ice Cube) returns to South Africa from San Francisco where he has been living in exile for 14 years. He thinks that he's become thoroughly "Americanized," but his brother Ernest (Sechaba Morojele) is quick to remind him of his family and national roots. Ernest claims that the struggle of black South Africans isn't over.
In fact, their younger brother Steven (Eric "Waku" Miyeni) has left their Transvaal home and disappeared somewhere in the fleshpots of Johannesburg. Vusi reluctantly agrees to try to find Steven before he flies back to San Francisco and learns from Steven's neighbor Karin (Elizabeth Hurley) that his brother is involved in the cocaine business and owes money to Muki (Ving Rhames), a ruthless gangster.
Whenever Roodt and his cast are exploring the seductive dangers of drug use, the film is frighteningly realistic and passionate. It's also heavy-handed at times. The anti-drug message is so strong that it doesn't need to be underlined so heavily.
As for the action, in the more slowly paced scenes, Roodt is more effective. One early carjacking is genuinely tense. The big finish, however, comes across as warmed-over John Woo, and the conclusion is simply wrong.
Throughout, the two leads are believably off-beat protagonists. Since his debut in "Boyz 'N the Hood," Ice Cube has become an accomplished screen actor. Elizabeth Hurley, veteran of several low-budget features, brings a gritty sense of reality to her role, too. It's not what most people expect from one of the world's most popular models.
Still, for anyone who's not interested in and familiar with South Africa's problems, it's difficult to become sufficiently involved with the loosely constructed plot. In the end, "Dangerous Ground" deserves more praise for good intentions than for execution.
"Dangerous Ground" **
A New Line release playing at the Valley View 6. 92 minutes. Rated R for violence, strong language, drug use, brief nudity.
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Ice Cube and Elizabeth Hurley star in "Dangerousby CNBGround". color.