Starring James Belushi, Tupac Shakur, Dennis Quaid, David Paymer, James Earl Jones and Lela Rochon Directed by Jim Kouf Rated R, with profanity, violence, nudity and drug use Running time 111 minutes Jack gives this film a rating of 7 out of 10

(Oct. 8, 1997) -- Don't be fooled by the movie's title. Or the emphasis put on its rap soundtrack. Or the presence -- for the last time -- of the late rapper-actor Tupac Shakur.

Gang Related is more than just another gangsta-rap urban actioner. Though fans of that limited genre will like Gang Related, other viewers will, too. It's got a lot more going for it than you might expect.

Gang Related stars James Belushi and Shakur in a gritty, violent police drama. They play crooked cops who have created a web of corruption that becomes more and more entangled the more they try to get out of it. Both actors deliver fine performances.

Shakur generates considerable sympathy as a crooked cop who develops a troublesome conscience. He reminds movie fans that they lost a promising young actor when he was shot and killed. Shakur holds the screen with charismatic intensity -- and was clearly developing range and subtlety.

Even more impressive here is Belushi. His portrayal of a murdering, unrepentantly corrupt officer is grimy and relentless; a performance that could finally break the actor out of the shadow of his older and immensely talented late brother. (I say "could" instead of "should" because Gang Related may not be seen by enough people to make a difference, simply because it is pigeonholed in the urban-action field.)

Belushi and Shakur play partners who routinely set up known drug dealers, get them to buy drugs which they have stolen from the police lock-up, and then kill them. The officers figure they're eliminating slime from the streets.

And since they keep the drug-buy money, they're also making a nice nest egg for themselves.

But early in the film, their scheme backfires. They've killed a drug dealer who turns out to be an undercover cop. As they try to cover their tracks -- by implicating an innocent person for the crime -- they make matters even worse.

The strong supporting cast includes Dennis Quaid as a scruffy homeless drunk named Joe, who becomes "the fall guy" for the murder, James Earl Jones and David Paymer as the lawyers who defend Joe, and Lela Rochon (of Waiting to Exhale) as Belushi's mistress, a stripper named Cynthia.

Lean and ably filmed, Gang Related marks a surprisingly dark turn for writer-director Jim Kouf, who has previously created the cop comedy-dramas Stakeout and Another Stakeout; and the Disney comedy Operation Dumbo Drop.