"From now on nothing goes down unless I'm involved. No blackjack, no dope deals, no nothing. A nickel bag gets sold in the park I want in!" And so it goes. Walken gives the performance of his career as Frank White, The King of New York. Walken is both captivating and convincing as the drug lord with a conscience and the ice cold killer who will stop at nothing to redeem himself. Released from prison, he is now "reformed" and ready to once again ascend to the very top of the drug pyramid with the help of his very loyal black street crew. Hit after hit of top mob bosses in the city brings him closer to his goal of building a new hospital but unfortunately draws the attention of a demented police squad determined to put Frank outta business...permanently. To just call these cops "dirty" would be a disservice to dirty cops. They are also crazy and not afraid to implement their own brand of justice. The cops are p***ed off that Frank is taking over and they can't do anything about it. So the detectives plan to take Frank out themselves. They are headed by a detective who cannot control them yet wants to see Frank go so badly that he doesn't have the heart to stop them. This leads to a showdown between Frank's dangerous black Mafia and the corrupt coppers. Frank responds to their attempts to foil him by putting out contracts on the police. I heard that when this was shown at the Sundance Film Festival critics expected to see something nice and cheery about New York based on the title alone. When they saw this movie they were shocked and never invited director Abel Ferrara back. This tells me two things that (1)this is very funny and I wish I had been there to see their reactions myself and (2)most critics have absolutely NO IDEA what cinema is all about and the same goes for viewers who expect all movies to have redeeming social values, teach a moral lesson, and give them that warm fuzzy feeling inside. King of New York had a great supporting cast, skillful direction, and a solid script. And watch for Frank Gio as mob boss Arty Clay he was awesome! It is a gangster classic that never waivers in its intentions and I will be highly anticipating the long awaited prequel to this film.
Review of King of New York
