Wordiezett So much average

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Theo Robertson Greg Yance finds himself busted for drugs and is sentenced to five years without parole . At his trial he is given a choice between serving his sentence in a tough penitentiary or to be sent to a tough boot camp As soon as the opening sequence rolled I came on to this page only to find it's a TVM . Oh dear not doubt a PG cert , a sort of disease of the week movie for homeboys . Quickly it became clear this was a HBO production with graphic language . The fact is I'm a big fan of HBO drama OZ and the first fifteen minutes played out like that classic show as Greg Yance finds himself quite literally having to fight for his life in an uncaring and brutal prison system Yance is given a choice of staying in the state pen or shipping out to a tough boot camp . You do think that in that case we'll be watching a sort of civilian version of FULL METAL JACKET . Rules are rules and somewhat strangely the rules of the camp involve no swearing . This means the film is conspicuous by missing a Sgt Hartman type character full of highly quotable foul mouthed language FIRST TIME FELON is certainly more enjoyable and impressive than a lot of TVMs I've seen and his competently directed by Charles S Dutton and competently acted by a mainly black cast . The problem is that the early sequences are so impressive the rest of the film doesn't sustain the hard hitting drama the story is capable of and becomes a bit too preachy the more it continues

buiger Nothing special. A lot better could and should have been made out of a probably very interesting true story.This made-for-TV movie has it's good times when it is rather powerful (especially the beginning) but then it loses itself as it describes the boot camp (everybody is so good and understanding...) and is overly simplistic towards the end by portraying "the cruel world that will not take a miraculously (in 3-4 months of boot camp) redeemed ex-criminal. Talk about politically correct...Overall, the acting, directing, cinematography, script, etc., same as the whole movie, average to below average.

TC-4 I thought that this would be another preachy movie about black kids in jail and all their problems. I was wrong. This is about black kids will all sorts of problems in and out of jail but it is done very tightly and kept up my interest throughout. Omar Epps is getting a lot of well deserved credit for his acting but my thumbs up goes to the director Charles S. Dutton who I would like to see do other films. The music with the end credits was beautiful and sounded like the high class music that you hear with much bigger budget movies. I recommend that everyone see this movie once. You will not regret it.

George Parker More interesting than entertaining, "FTF" follows one inner-city street hood from his first time "bust" for drug dealing through one of the controversial "boot camp" style reform programs back into the streets where he is again faced with a choice between easy money or long unemployment lines. A journeyman film which runs a bit long with it's attempts to milk sympathy from the audience, "FTF" is a somewhat staged telling of a true story, a tour de force by a well cast Epps, and a seemingly serious attempt to give insights into the plight of the young inner-city black male with a criminal record.