OPENS OCTOBER 6

When this ghetto parable begins, two desperate Vietnam vets, an aging gangster, a part-time minister, and a black-nationalist revolutionary prepare to hijack a truck full of “dead presidents”—worn-out greenbacks about to incinerated. Then directors Allen and Albert Hughes (Menace II Society) back up to show how the thieves got to that point, concentrating on the well-meaning Anthony (Menace standout Larenz Tate), a jobless war hero. This is competently made, and its extensive score (more than 30 songs) certainly evokes black America in the early ’70s, but that’s about all. Perhaps it’s Michael Henry Brown’s script, or getting bogged down in Nam (though not so badly as The Walking Dead), or engaging in the sort of routine sociological analysis the first one burned right off, but the film doesn’t have half the kick of the Hughes’ savage debut. See showtimes for venues. (Mark Jenkins)