This is solid action fare with saggy bits, but there's enough ass-kicking, Molotov cocktail-throwing and gunfire to keep their erstwhile fans amused, and the screenplay cleverly knits the old traditions of Shaft together with Boyz 'n' the Hood.

Original Gangstas leaves you feeling that more could have been made of this 'blaxploitation' reunion, but it's not bad -- and no more and no less substantial than the films of the original cycle.

Think Boyz N the Hood meets The Mod Squad.

It's good to see the stars from those 70’s “black exploitation” blockbusters working again, even if it is naïve to believe they can come back 20 years later and wipe out today’s dope dealers.