Rating: R
Genre:
Crime
Theatrical Release: 02/06/2002(USA
Release Date: 03/18/2003
SubTitles: English/Espanol/French
Dubbed: English/Espanol/French
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 100 Minutes
Flags: Graphic Violence, Profanity, Sexual Situations, Drug Content
Distributor/Studio: Universal Studios
A man who has made good in an illegal business discovers going straight is a more complicated matter than he imagined in this urban
drama.
Victor Rosa (
John Leguizamo) is a drug dealer who has made a small fortune selling a heroin-based drug cocktail he's concocted called "Empire."
Victor doesn't see himself as a dope pusher; instead, he considers himself an entrepreneur and a businessman who is simply making the most of the economic opportunities presented to him in the ghetto. Through his girlfriend
Carmen (
Delilah Cotto),
Victor makes the acquaintance of
Jack Wimmer (
Peter Sarsgaard), an upscale investment banker who admires
Victor's business savvy and street smarts.
Victor is interested in getting out of drug dealing and into a legitimate business, and when
Jack offers
Victor the chance to buy into a new business,
Victor eagerly accepts and makes a good profit in the deal. After this,
Victor is all the more enthusiastic when
Jack gives him the opportunity to invest in a much bigger project; the price, however, is more than
Victor can afford, and he has to borrow from another high-stakes drug dealer,
La Columbiana (
Isabella Rossellini) in order to make the nut. It isn't long before
Victor learns
La Columbiana is not a good person to be in debt to -- and that
Jack may not be all he imagined him to be.
Empire marked the directorial debut of dancer and choreographer
Franc Reyes; the supporting cast includes
Denise Richards,
Sonia Braga,
Ruben Blades, and
rapper Fat Joe.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
