Review of The Yards (2000) by Kevin R — 22 Aug 2015

I gotta do what I can do to protect what I built.

Leo Handler is fresh out of prison after years of work in the family business. His uncle is a crime lord in Queens New York that uses the rail road to transports business in and out of New York. Leo wants to be on the straight and narrow but his uncle begins sucking him back into the world that got him in prison to begin with. Can Leo find a way out of this life?

"If all they want is cash there's always plenty of that.".

James Gray, director of The Immigrant, Two Lovers, We Own the Night, Little Odessa, and the upcoming The Lost City of Z, delivers The Yards. The storyline for this picture is interesting and has a nice blend of family and mob drama. The action and script are pretty good and the acting is better than average. The cast includes Mark Wahlberg, Joaquin Phoenix, Charlize Theron, James Cann, and Faye Dunaway.

"I have paid my debts to society.".

I recently came across this on Netflix and decided to give it a shot since I had never seen or heard of this. This was a very solid and well done picture. It is an above average addition t the genre. It's not a classic gangster film but it is worth a viewing.

"Many lives have been destroyed by this system.".

Grade: C+.