We've all seen this story before, it's kind of a combo deal between Wild Style and Bad Lieutenant. Some good acting performances by the lead character and his crew. The girl bugged me, just too formulaic with her Che' t-shirt and her anti-capitalism stance. Good editing techniques, really fit the pace well. El-P should score more films, this seems to be a perfect side gig for him. The music really makes up for the lack of character development and originality in the plot. It's relatively short so it's worth checking out just for the cinematography and the score. And as a former writer, I take offense to the line about real writers never paying for paint. Yeah right, try racking paint from the same hardware store more than a couple times. There's not that many stores selling paint that you can maintain anonymity. This type of pretension, combined with a total lack of humor brings the whole film down.
14 Reviews
Works better as a music video, less as a narrative piece
Noah_Suppin22 November 2005
Much like the recent "Lords of Dogtown", "Bomb the System" is a film spotlighting a semi- underground subculture, in this case graffiti writers, wrapped around a narrative plot. Somewhat similar to "Kids", the story follows a young writer, "BLEST" as he tags, hangs out with friends, smokes pot, parties and tags again. This would all work fine as a minimalist, loosely structured, spectator piece, but instead, the filmmakers throw the dramatic storyline arc into the mix about a crooked cop and his ex-writer partner, which makes the whole thing seem artificial. Besides this major flaw, the film also suffers from over-acting, un-motivated hyper editing techniques and un-authentic slang dialouge. As an artist myself, I would suggest to neophytes looking to learn more about the culture to explore documentaries and check out websites. It's too bad that this film doesn't work, because the characters, like the filmmakers, seem to have a spiritual passion for the art of graffiti. The character Alex says in one scene something along the lines of while graffiti is aesthetically pleasing and stylistic, it the end, it stands for nothing. This particular line echos my thoughts and feelings about the film itself.
Slow starter gets interesting in the second half when 'tagging' turns to tragedy!
SONNYK_USA25 August 2005
The dedicated practitioners of graffiti art in New York City get dramatically profiled in a film shot 'guerilla' style late at night in order to simulate the 'danger' involved with the only art form that's against the law.
Stereotypical 'bad' cops continually stalk the intrepid band of 'taggers' while 'Blest' (Mark Webber) truly is the most artistically blessed member of the gang as he readies an art exhibit of his best work.
However, this film doesn't really become interesting until Blest becomes involved with 'Alexandra' (Jaclyn DeSantis), a political activist who anonymously paints the words 'Bomb the System' all over the city sidewalks using a cleverly modified shopping bag that has a stencil cut into the bottom.
As the police become more and more of a factor the dangers that Blest faces by hanging with his friends causes him to make some hard decisions. Worth watching for some great night shots of New York City and an amazing sequence on the top of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Check it out!
Stereotypical 'bad' cops continually stalk the intrepid band of 'taggers' while 'Blest' (Mark Webber) truly is the most artistically blessed member of the gang as he readies an art exhibit of his best work.
However, this film doesn't really become interesting until Blest becomes involved with 'Alexandra' (Jaclyn DeSantis), a political activist who anonymously paints the words 'Bomb the System' all over the city sidewalks using a cleverly modified shopping bag that has a stencil cut into the bottom.
As the police become more and more of a factor the dangers that Blest faces by hanging with his friends causes him to make some hard decisions. Worth watching for some great night shots of New York City and an amazing sequence on the top of the Brooklyn Bridge.
Check it out!
Heady, energetic film about graffiti.
shizz_2711 January 2004
"A graffiti writer doesn't expect to get caught, like a cop never expects to get shot". That's one of many phrases to live by for a group of graffiti artists, or "bombers", in Brooklyn. BOMB THE SYSTEM, which I knew next to nothing about going in, is a heady, energetic film about a particular subculture. Can't say I really care all that much about how graffiti gets where it gets or those responsible, but I can't deny how well made the movie is. The hip-hop music, an old-school mix by El P (whoever), the editing style, the bleached out color palate -- every storytelling device at Director Adam Bhala Lough's disposal is perfectly suited, if just a tad overused, to the material. We're in good hands, here.
Blest (Mark Webber, hardly recognizable from the lifeless STORYTELLING) has bombed since he can remember. Since his brother died doing the same. Jacking spraypaint cans -- because a true artist never pays -- running from the law, leaving his mark on the sides of buildings and trucks, his sights set on the Brooklyn Bridge one of these days. He and his gang hang out, smoke pot, get drunk and appreciate "the colors, the blends and the smell of paint". These guys keep regular day jobs, the majority of them anyway, and do their thing at night, maintaining rivalries over territory with other gangs, searching for that one spot nobody has touched and that'll bring them a little slice of immortality.
Blest understands his scene. "If I'm gonna risk going to jail, it's gonna be for bombin' and nothing else," he explains to his girlfriend, a fellow writer named Alex (the cute as hell Jaclyn DeSantis). And, it's not like he doesn't have options in life: Alex offers an open invitation for Blest to join her and go cross country; his own crew is asking him to step up and take more initiative right where he is, and he has just been accepted to an art institute. Added to which, maybe he's ready to give it all up for good; "our pieces keep gettin' buffed as soon as we paint them". Graffiti is temporary. After a while, what's the point?
BOMB THE SYSTEM is kind of sketchy from a plot standpoint (it's got that beat of everyday life, so nothing really happens), and it has more of a political agenda than the desire to tell a story, per se. But, I love the philosophising in Lough's screenplay; his dialogue is very urban, profane and also quite literate. I love the way these guys talk to one another. A corrupt police officer tracking Blest and his gang's activity has a particularly objective way of thinking: he doesn't have a problem with prostitution but doesn't want to see them walking the street, either. Same deal with graffiti. If art is what you are doing, do it at home. Want the services of a hooker, call an 800 number and have one come to your home. Discretion is key. While that doesn't make the cop a fully realized character, it's nice to hear someone with an opinion express it clearly. Which is pretty much the case with this entire cast. Noone gets the proper developmental treatment, but at least they have ideas.
The movie doesn't have a beating heart beneath its shiny surface, but what a surface. I hope Lough learns the beauty of the sustained shot; he's too smart not to. SYSTEM is overly busy for its own visual good, at times. An inventive exercise in style. Tone poetry, if you will.
Blest (Mark Webber, hardly recognizable from the lifeless STORYTELLING) has bombed since he can remember. Since his brother died doing the same. Jacking spraypaint cans -- because a true artist never pays -- running from the law, leaving his mark on the sides of buildings and trucks, his sights set on the Brooklyn Bridge one of these days. He and his gang hang out, smoke pot, get drunk and appreciate "the colors, the blends and the smell of paint". These guys keep regular day jobs, the majority of them anyway, and do their thing at night, maintaining rivalries over territory with other gangs, searching for that one spot nobody has touched and that'll bring them a little slice of immortality.
Blest understands his scene. "If I'm gonna risk going to jail, it's gonna be for bombin' and nothing else," he explains to his girlfriend, a fellow writer named Alex (the cute as hell Jaclyn DeSantis). And, it's not like he doesn't have options in life: Alex offers an open invitation for Blest to join her and go cross country; his own crew is asking him to step up and take more initiative right where he is, and he has just been accepted to an art institute. Added to which, maybe he's ready to give it all up for good; "our pieces keep gettin' buffed as soon as we paint them". Graffiti is temporary. After a while, what's the point?
BOMB THE SYSTEM is kind of sketchy from a plot standpoint (it's got that beat of everyday life, so nothing really happens), and it has more of a political agenda than the desire to tell a story, per se. But, I love the philosophising in Lough's screenplay; his dialogue is very urban, profane and also quite literate. I love the way these guys talk to one another. A corrupt police officer tracking Blest and his gang's activity has a particularly objective way of thinking: he doesn't have a problem with prostitution but doesn't want to see them walking the street, either. Same deal with graffiti. If art is what you are doing, do it at home. Want the services of a hooker, call an 800 number and have one come to your home. Discretion is key. While that doesn't make the cop a fully realized character, it's nice to hear someone with an opinion express it clearly. Which is pretty much the case with this entire cast. Noone gets the proper developmental treatment, but at least they have ideas.
The movie doesn't have a beating heart beneath its shiny surface, but what a surface. I hope Lough learns the beauty of the sustained shot; he's too smart not to. SYSTEM is overly busy for its own visual good, at times. An inventive exercise in style. Tone poetry, if you will.
Visually stunning, yet unclear on the message...
dr.gonzo-46 December 2005
Warning: Spoilers
I've always been a big fan of cult films that expose some sort of cool and/or intriguing sub-culture whether it's rhyme battling in 8 MILE, heroin addiction in TRAINSPOTTING, or even fraudulent stock trading in BOILER ROOM. These films are great because they present the subject without promoting it or criticizing it which draws you into the world and allows you to make your own judgments.
BOMB THE SYSTEM definitely falls into that category and for the first half, had the makings of a cult classic. It thrusts you into the dangerous world of the graffiti artist and makes no apologies for how they go about doing it(by the way, I'm amazed it took this long to make a movie about graffiti). The film centers around Anthony, AKA "Blest", who is part of a "bombing" crew that is constantly hunted by the local Police Vandalism Unit. If you are a fan of hip hop culture, then you are sure to buy into the whole bravura of the renegade street-artist(I am and I did). You buy into it because you feel as though they are carrying on this long legacy of artistic expression.
But then, in the second half, things get a little confusing. First he meets this girl who is part of a political-stencil-message-spraying group that are trying to say that a bumper sticker message like "Don't Eat Meat" is better than artistic graffiti? And then to top it all off, he turns his back on his friends and says that graffiti is stupid? I don't know if I just missed the point of the second half, but it definitely left me scratching my head.
But besides that, the film has some great experimental editing and cinematography that enhanced the overall atmosphere and experience. The acting is great by a cast of unknowns or littleknowns, especially Gano Grills who played "Buk 50." Films like these really bother me because they have such potential for greatness, but then take a left turn somewhere instead of staying on the right track. But then again, it did have a scene in an underground club that was playing Madvillain "Money Folder" so...
BOMB THE SYSTEM definitely falls into that category and for the first half, had the makings of a cult classic. It thrusts you into the dangerous world of the graffiti artist and makes no apologies for how they go about doing it(by the way, I'm amazed it took this long to make a movie about graffiti). The film centers around Anthony, AKA "Blest", who is part of a "bombing" crew that is constantly hunted by the local Police Vandalism Unit. If you are a fan of hip hop culture, then you are sure to buy into the whole bravura of the renegade street-artist(I am and I did). You buy into it because you feel as though they are carrying on this long legacy of artistic expression.
But then, in the second half, things get a little confusing. First he meets this girl who is part of a political-stencil-message-spraying group that are trying to say that a bumper sticker message like "Don't Eat Meat" is better than artistic graffiti? And then to top it all off, he turns his back on his friends and says that graffiti is stupid? I don't know if I just missed the point of the second half, but it definitely left me scratching my head.
But besides that, the film has some great experimental editing and cinematography that enhanced the overall atmosphere and experience. The acting is great by a cast of unknowns or littleknowns, especially Gano Grills who played "Buk 50." Films like these really bother me because they have such potential for greatness, but then take a left turn somewhere instead of staying on the right track. But then again, it did have a scene in an underground club that was playing Madvillain "Money Folder" so...
Insanely Innovative
alchemic878 October 2005
Ignore what you've heard bad about this movie. Some writers might be upset that the movie doesn't go too into detail about actually putting graffiti up or saying that it's using incorrect terminology but those people completely missed what's good about the movie.
First off, the actual presentation, filming, camera movement, effects, etc. are all extremely artistic and original. The entire movie just makes you feel empathetic for the characters. The atmosphere, the scenery, all of it. Interludes between scenes of the main character always running, just running away.
The music is good too. It's all done by El-P, for anyone familiar with Def-Jux.
The whole movie though, it's just amazing... So many people overlooked this. Everything is just done so brutally realistic, how the way characters react and think, how life really can just be ****ed up. It's a powerful movie and the ending is the best part. (be warned though... it's sad...)
First off, the actual presentation, filming, camera movement, effects, etc. are all extremely artistic and original. The entire movie just makes you feel empathetic for the characters. The atmosphere, the scenery, all of it. Interludes between scenes of the main character always running, just running away.
The music is good too. It's all done by El-P, for anyone familiar with Def-Jux.
The whole movie though, it's just amazing... So many people overlooked this. Everything is just done so brutally realistic, how the way characters react and think, how life really can just be ****ed up. It's a powerful movie and the ending is the best part. (be warned though... it's sad...)
Unrealistic...
bromance14 January 2005
I went into this movie thinking it would be a non-cliché, modern portrayal of graffiti culture in NY... only to see in the first 2 minutes, a guy Break dancing with a boombox, in front of a muraled wall. Maybe it was a flashback of the main character as a kid... but it seems that would only make sense if the lead character was 30yrs old.
I tried to give this movie a chance. But there were just too many things that bugged me... The writing for instance, all the graffiti terminology was incorrectly used. When a graffiti writer goes "Bombing" he does not go out and do full illegal murals. Nobody even mentions doing "fill-ins" or "throwups" which are the most commonly used terms/acts by graf-writers. They call them "pieces" in the movie, which is completely wrong. Those are just some examples...
It became pretty obvious that the filmmakers knew little or Nothing about graffiti. Just because you know about Sane & Smith, and heard a couple chase stories from your NYU buddy, isn't enough to go out and make a significant Graffiti movie. There is some "cool" cinematography in this, which isn't bad. But that's it. Storyline is similar to the likes of Wild Style or Beat Street (a hip hop love story). But even those movies were made with less pretension than this.
I tried to give this movie a chance. But there were just too many things that bugged me... The writing for instance, all the graffiti terminology was incorrectly used. When a graffiti writer goes "Bombing" he does not go out and do full illegal murals. Nobody even mentions doing "fill-ins" or "throwups" which are the most commonly used terms/acts by graf-writers. They call them "pieces" in the movie, which is completely wrong. Those are just some examples...
It became pretty obvious that the filmmakers knew little or Nothing about graffiti. Just because you know about Sane & Smith, and heard a couple chase stories from your NYU buddy, isn't enough to go out and make a significant Graffiti movie. There is some "cool" cinematography in this, which isn't bad. But that's it. Storyline is similar to the likes of Wild Style or Beat Street (a hip hop love story). But even those movies were made with less pretension than this.
It represents the culture accurately.
Dart_Adams9 September 2005
This film is the best graf film ever made that isn't a documentary. It isn't Beat Street. There is no wack or corny dialog. No weak links on the acting side. No stupid side plots. If you are not familiar with graf or the culture of writing then watch it and learn. Do not judge this film as you would a general genre film. This isn't a drama, or an urban drama....it is a GRAF FILM. Pure and simple. If you don't like dirty and lewd comedy don't bother seeing The Aristocrats. It you aren't into seeing independent films, gritty urban/graf or hip hop related films then DON'T BOTHER WATCHING OR REVIEWING THIS FILM! True heads only need apply. 10 out of 10 for staying true to the culture...everyone who gave this film 1's need to reserve them for The Fantastic Four or another mindless summer blockbuster. Read my in dept comments on the board titled "Is It That Bad?" One.
Shallow and Pretentious
armacphe8 February 2006
I just finished the film, and boy, it was not good at all. I've never seen any other movie about graffiti, and yet everything in this one seems clichéd. Many of the characters are not believable, for example the central villain is a "bad cop" who is just laughable in the way he is portrayed as pure evil. And it just DRAGS for about twenty minutes two thirds of the way through (and the movie is only 90 minutes long!). I almost went to see this last fall at the local film festival, but the schedule didn't work out, and I'm glad I saved my $10. If this was a film made by a group of high school students I would applaud them, but for a professional film this is just a pretentious waste of time.
Amazing movie that makes you want to hear the click-clack sound of a 12oz can of freedom
areff012 June 2006
amazing movie. i used to write but the fort got way to hot with the vandal squad crap, but this movie made me bust out the Krylon and fat caps and go out that very night. not only an amazing Graf doc. but also a damn good plot that anyone who has ever held a chisel tip can fully appreciate. it is a very real view of life as a writer, always on the run. despite their attempts to silence us we will be heard loud and clear. very moving and compelling.
if u view Graf as vandalism, don't watch this movie...
or better yet go out Bombin' and feel the realness of life on the run...
if u view Graf as vandalism, don't watch this movie...
or better yet go out Bombin' and feel the realness of life on the run...
If you expect something political, don't watch this movie...
pro-phy30 April 2010
Good lord.. this was by far _THE_ worst what-ever-this-was I have seen.
A whole bunch of wannabe gangsters, pseudo-sprayer attitude, side plot love-story and on top of it one or two oh-we-are-so-system-critical statements.
It is hard to say if the story, the storytelling, the acting or the camera is the thing that make you want to turn this off after some minutes.
I am really annoyed, having wasted my time on watching and finally writing something about this nonsense. It is though watching until the end, I can tell..
A whole bunch of wannabe gangsters, pseudo-sprayer attitude, side plot love-story and on top of it one or two oh-we-are-so-system-critical statements.
It is hard to say if the story, the storytelling, the acting or the camera is the thing that make you want to turn this off after some minutes.
I am really annoyed, having wasted my time on watching and finally writing something about this nonsense. It is though watching until the end, I can tell..
Excellent film
Rhyekno10 May 2008
Just finished watching the movie, and I gotta say...It was fresh. Had me from start to finish. I was immersed. I felt as though I was running through Brooklyn with the characters. As soon as I finished it I had an overwhelming urge to go to throwup some work.
"Bomb the system" had great acting, really good filming, decent script, and some nice "tags"(they don't dwell on any of the pieces long enough unfortunately). My only complaints were: the girlfriend, she was too stereo typical, and anti-captilist. Also the lack of an in depth look at actual street art(graffiti). All in all the I loved this movie, and would recommend it to anyone, whether they are into graff or not.
8 out of 10 stars
Watch it now!
"Bomb the system" had great acting, really good filming, decent script, and some nice "tags"(they don't dwell on any of the pieces long enough unfortunately). My only complaints were: the girlfriend, she was too stereo typical, and anti-captilist. Also the lack of an in depth look at actual street art(graffiti). All in all the I loved this movie, and would recommend it to anyone, whether they are into graff or not.
8 out of 10 stars
Watch it now!
A true rarity
jake_fantom8 August 2019
Perhaps only once or twice in a lifetime does a film this insipid and wrong-headed come along - a celebration of graffiti "artists" - created by idiots, for idiots, and about idiots. These are the brilliant talents that scrawl garish dripping odes to themselves upon our cities' historic buildings, monuments, and anything else they can deface. From New York City where I grew up to the magnificent ancient landmarks of Prague, these vandals have ruined priceless historic treasures with their crappy handiwork - and now, finally, we have a movie that makes them feel like misunderstood heroes and artistic geniuses. Everyone associated with this dreadful film should be banned from the industry forever. Sorry for the rant, but this one really made me sick.
28 of January
fentagin28 January 2008
i don't know about you guy's but this movie was awesome.also the message that the movie is trying to pass is the reality of our life's.the end of the movie where bless is being killed by the cop and after that it says "you have to make the right decision" it's the best ending and at the same time the most touch full ending that i've ever seen. you shouldn't stand in such worthless part of the movie such as the graffiti terminology. focus on the message that every movie is trying to pass to you. don't see the tree and loose the forest.... if of course you know what i mean..........thats all guy's,i hope that this comment will make you rethink again the whole think and change your point of view for this movie.......thanks,see ya.
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