I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Spanish versus blacks versus white supremacists in a 1970-1980's melting prison pot just ready to boil over. Three young men living in a working class east L.A. neighborhood defined by the many gang- banger's who want to build their reputation for being the biggest bad asses are ready to rumble and look for any excuse to get it on next to their "homies".The three main characters are aspiring artist, lover and drug addicted Cruz (Jesse Borrego), ex-boxer turned law enforcement officer Paco (Benjamin Bratt) and angry mixed breed Spanish/White Miklo (Damian Chapa) who grow up together in a gang but as life takes its course over two decades these three men fight their own demons alone and sometimes pitted against one another.If you want to fight the bull sometimes you get the horn and Miklo who is struggling to gain acceptance of his mothers Spanish heritage because his skin color is white is constantly fighting the race card on all three sides of the Spanish, white and black prison gangs. Miklo is the one of the three young men who ends up in prison and must gain the trust of his Spanish prison gang members if he is going to survive his years in imprisonment. Although Damian Chapa's acting as his character Miklo was exceedingly over emphasized as an angry "Chico" we just never see a two dimensional character. On the brighter side the two other main characters Cruz (artist) and Paco (cop) evolve into men with a conscience and so they periodically reflect back on their younger gang war years as a brotherhood that must be respected but also realizing it was in their past and not in their future.There are some other great supporting cast members such as Raymond Cruz as Chuey the druggie, Victor Rivers as Spanish prisoner Magic Mike, Danny Trejo as Spanish prisoner Geronimo, Carlos Carrasco as Spanish prisoner Popeye, Ving Rhames as a prison gang intelligence detective named Ivan, Delroy Lindo as Bonafide the leader of the black prison gang, Tom Towles as white supremacist Red Ryder, and Billy Bob Thornton as white supremacist Lightning. As you can see by this depth of the talent pool most of whom went on to greater Hollywood fame, the director Taylor Hackford utilized his young talent pool to his full advantage and to the viewers greatest benefit.This film is a tad over 3 hours long, but surprisingly, there are no dead spots throughout the film. The intertwined stories of the 3 Spanish homies Cruz, Paco and Miklo are blended so well that we the viewer can only anticipate what is going to happen next, and to our surprise everything is not as it seems in their Spanish neighborhood, nor in the prison where Miklo grows into a hardened lifetime criminal battling the blacks and Aryan racists proving himself over and over to favor his Spanish heritage gang members.It took me 23 years to finally watch this film but I believe that Blood In, Blood Out has withstood the test of time and the storyline is still relative today as it was three decades ago when it was released in the early 1990's. So many great male stars went on to have great movie careers and this film could only have helped build their film resumes with such strong personal acting performances in a tough gang related film such as Blood In, Blood Out. I give the film an 8 out of 10 rating

This is an absolute 90's classic! Being a child of the 90's, both film and music-wise, I love this film. Entertaining story of LA gang culture and brotherhood. The acting isn't always completely there but it doesn't actually matter when a film is this much fun to watch. Yes it's a long film but needs to be really - nothing feels unnecessary. The white-boy Hispanic aspect is good to watch and gives the film a certain uncomfortableness. This film had a real feel-good brotherhood vibe running through it and although in some ways cheesy I found it overall to be a gem. Viva Los Pacos Locos! If I was a film buff, I'd stroke my beard and say this film was displeasing due to the fact that it wasn't shot in black and white, wasn't made in the 1950's, wasn't minimalist and not enough ponses rated it, but then again I'm not ;-)

I have seen this movie way too many times, its a true cult classic. 3 hours of brilliant (and sometimes corny) mobstermania.Miklo is a great character, and the surrounding cast is equally great. The 90's vibe oozes out of every frame, and there are so many memorable scenes, its hard to name the best.Although its fair to say the prison parts are very amusing and might belong to the movie's best moments. its not the best movie ever made by far, but for fans of the genre its a very memorable and highly amusing movie i have watched countless times and enjoyed every time. Great characters, great atmosphere, hilarious scenes and a 3 hour journey through a pretty well written story.Cult classic, gotta watch it every 5 years.

This film really is a peer of The Godfather. It should be thought of in those terms. Both films track members of a family who are in mob-like organizations. "Blood In, Blood Out" tracks the fate of family members involved in gangs but some of whom try to go straight, while The Godfather is more concerned with the internal machinations of the criminal organization.That said, the films tracks several boys who during their youth are parts of illegal criminal families. I think this film is criminally underrated. Both the first and second Godfather films deserve their plaudits and the performances, direction, and script combined to make for compelling inter-generational dramas. However, this film is no different. It does not track such a lengthy period of time, but we see significant character development, multi-layered story lines, and large numbers of peripheral characters who also play important parts in the film.The acting in this film is brilliant from the three leads Benjamin Bratt, Jesse Borrego, and most notably, Damian Chapa. Chapa as Miclo is the light-skinned, blue-eyed Latino whose appearance has always driven him to prove how loyal a Latino he was and which leads him into a lot of trouble. Chapa's performance depicts Miclo as scared and unsure as a youngster, but as he grows older, he becomes more sure of himself and more committed to his lifestyle. Chapa delivers an intense, energetic performance which really should have led to more opportunities for him, had he wanted them. Jesse Borrego as Cruz is a talented artist whose life falls prey to drugs but who survives and doesn't forget his origins and values. Borrego make Cruz an imp with a twinkle in his eye which never goes out, no matter how far he falls and Borrego's performance also shows a great deal of depth. Bratt is Paco, perhaps the most troubled as a youngster, but whose life changes fortuitously before it can spin too far out of control. The three leads are cousins, and their courses in life converge and diverge in interesting and not unrealistic ways.There is great supporting work from actors like Delroy Lindo, Enrique Castillo, Carlos Carrasco, Victor Rivers, and many others. The script and screenplay are fantastic, chronicling about 13 or 14 years with great ease but without sacrificing complexity. The story is based on the experiences of artist Jimmy Santiago Baca and he helped to write the screenplay.For me, the relationships among the races in prison is the most fascinating part of the film. Race defines one's position in prison. The unity of the members of a race will determine how powerful that race is in prison. This is not a film for kids. The violence is not soft-pedaled. It is brutal and unapologetic. Director Taylor Hackford should be applauded for not shrinking from a not particularly feelgood story. He allows the film to breathe and allows the tragedy and triumph to play out. I have read some reviewers critique the length of this film and while I sympathize, I don't know which parts they would remove. I don't find that the film drags at all and the relationships within the family, within racial groups, and between racial groups, make this a film that will withstand repeated viewing.