Ed Morrissey

It's surprising to me that it's been 31 years since this film came out. I never liked this movie as much as CD clearly does, but it really did speak to some urban issues that had emerged by the late 1980s. But the problem with this film is that the main character is the architect of his own failure. He's clearly disturbed, and that gets revealed over the course of the movie, which both explains his overreactions but also makes those overreactions a result of his mental and emotional collapse. It's much more internal than external.

Also, the grievances on display are mainly related to race and class. We didn't use the term "woke" at the time, but it's essentially a dissertation on "White Fragility." 

It's still a good movie, with several good performances, and CD's analysis does make me want to watch the film again.