‘1992’ Review – Tyrese’s Best Performance Since Baby Boy

1992 is a film that uses a backdrop I haven’t seen used since the Kurt Russell film Dark Blue. (For those who haven’t seen it, the Ron Shelton film features one of Kurt Russell’s most criminally underrated performances.) Surprisingly, this subject matter has primarily been overlooked, especially given the ongoing racial tension in the United States today.

There have been better attempts, like Dope (2015) and Gook (2017), and less successful ones, like Kings (2017). However, the new Tyrese film 1992 falls somewhere in between. The experience is like watching two different genres meet at the end, resulting in something satisfying, with a handful of very good performances. However, you can’t help but wonder if there was a better film somewhere, yearning to break free of genre constraints.

The film follows a recent parolee, Mercer Bey (Tyrese), who is working hard to stay on the straight and narrow but is struggling to establish a relationship with his estranged son, Antoine (Black Lightning’s Christopher Ammanuel). Antoine hardly knows his father, whom he hasn’t seen since Mercer went to prison. Since then, Antoine’s mother and grandmother, who raised him, have passed away.

Mercer knows something about making mistakes as a young person, so he has strict rules for Antoine that he expects to be followed—for example, going to school and coming straight home to stay off the streets. This is especially important given the current climate. The film takes place in 1992, using the night of April 29th as a backdrop—the night of the Los Angeles riots after the Rodney King verdict.

Tensions are high, and it’s the perfect cover for a career criminal and his sons to pull off a precious metal heist. Ray Liotta plays Lowell, a despicable excuse for a human being and father. His sons, Riggin (Scott Eastwood) and Dennis (Oppenheimer’s Dylan Arnold), couldn’t be more different, which is a generic trope in itself. They despise their father, but the allure of the big score is too much to resist.

1992 is from writer and director Ariel Vromen, best known for the Michael Shannon vehicle The Iceman. Vromen helms a film with more on its mind than a simple heist. He co-wrote the script with Creed II scribe Sascha Penn, and the picture is compelling. Due to its setting, one evokes a unique time and place, which is about to be a powder keg. This is complemented by a stoically focused performance from Tyrese’s which is his best work since the John Singleton film Baby Boy.

The Mercer storyline is thoughtful in the way he cares about his son. The film’s best scene, going through a checkpoint with some Caucasian officers at a checkpoint who are profiling them, is riveting and even powerful. The authentic tension, moral complexity, and cultural relevance are palpable here and quite visceral at times. You wish they stuck more with that story and explored that relationship under such strenuous circumstances.

The storyline with Liotta and Eastwood is okay. The late Narc and Field of Dreams star is at his menacing, volatile best. And while some may point out that the violence continues with primarily African American characters dying first (and violently). However, that would be a point in this film. They do not just relegate them to the status of victims; they also show that society makes a vulnerable population expendable by dehumanizing them.

The result is that 1992 is a solid genre film that elevates its story because of historical context and modern themes.

1992 is currently playing exclusively in theaters courtesy of Lionsgate.