Drama
Tempest
Tempest raises some relevant questions about faith, but strong violence may make this Korean thriller a tough watch.
Will Smith was born and (mostly) raised in West Philadelphia.
No one knows the streets of West Philly quite like Will. And he spends every waking moment proving that this is his city by dominating the basketball court and working as a high school junior to earn a D-I scholarship to Virginia.
One day that all disappears when Will defeats a group of neighborhood drug dealers in a basketball game. What was meant to be a simple throwdown turned into a fist fight, Will pulling a gun on neighborhood king Rashad Denton in order to protect his best friend Tray and, finally, Will’s arrest.
Will’s mother, Viola, is quick to act. She calls her wealthy brother-in-law (Phillip Banks), arranges Will’s bail and his new, spot-free record and books him a ticket for Los Angeles. Will doesn’t even have time to wrap his mind around what’s happened, let alone recover, before he finds himself entering the wrought-iron gates of the Banks’ family estate.
He’s welcomed by his kind, socialite aunt Vivian, his powerful, potential district-attorney uncle Phillip, his culinary influencer cousin Hilary, his sweet youngest cousin Ashley and his arrogant, troubled cousin Carlton.
For most of the family, this welcome is genuine. But no matter how many affirming words Will receives, it still doesn’t fix the problems he’s left behind in Philadelphia. Nor does it fix the new plate of problems he’s been served. See, Bel-Air is nothing like West Philly. And Will will have to learn how to adapt from life in the hood to life with L.A.’s richest with the few survival skills he’s built in the streets.
If you grew up watching Will Smith play a loving goofball on the ’90s sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, you’ll want to scrub away every notion of that light-hearted show before you sit down to watch this reboot.
The old rendition remains buried in the past. This new, “fresh” look at the life of young Will Smith (and produced by the real Will Smith) parts ways with its predecessor and opens its arms to cynicism, joylessness, racism and the wild lives every television producer believes is true of high school students in America.
To give credit where it’s due, this reboot realistically portrays the life of a young man raised without a father—as well as the lives of many young men who grow up fatherless—left to navigate drug-dealing societies alone. Will is left to define what manhood is on his own and learn how to manage his pride on the unforgiving streets of Philadelphia. This aspect of the show is well done, as are the struggles that some of the show’s teens work through as they grow and mature.
Yet the former joy-filled sitcom is nowhere to be found, which is a bummer. This dramatic re-telling stays on the grittier side of things. Uncle Phil is nowhere near as lovable as he runs for District Attorney and is most concerned with the appearance of his family, not the emotional connection. And aunt Viv isn’t as wise. But perhaps the most shocking “twist,” is that Carlton is a drug-addicted, insecure young man who is bent on destroying Will’s life. Pair that with an insane amount of profanity, violence, definitions of police brutality, sexual innuendo, drugs and alcohol and heavy discussions on racism and you’ve got a show that is desperately trying to make a classic as “modern” as it can be.
Will is bailed out of prison after a near gunfight on a neighborhood basketball court. His mother, Vivian, immediately sends him to live with his aunt, uncle and the rest of this estranged side of the family in their luxurious mansion in Bel-Air.
Will pulls a gun on an infamous drug dealer to try and protect his friend, Tray, who receives multiple kicks and punches to the face and abdomen. Will and his friend receive multiple death threats from drug dealers in town.
Young men walk around a locker room in towels. Women and high school girls wear provocative clothes. Will kisses a new love interest and tells her that he doesn’t want to swim with her, but wouldn’t mind a shower.
Carlton snorts what he claims is crushed Xanax multiple times. High school students drink all types of alcohol at a party, dance provocatively and make out while parents are nowhere to be found. Cousin Hilary tells Will that her mother needs “a lot of weed” to calm down.
God’s name, paired with “d—n” is heard once. The f-word is used about 30 times and the s-word is heard more than 20 times. The n-word is heard, both in song and conversation, more than 20 times. Other profanity includes multiple utterances each of “h—,” “a—,” “d—n,” “b—ch,” “p-ssy,” “a—hole” and “d—ck head.”
Kristin Smith joined the Plugged In team in 2017. Formerly a Spanish and English teacher, Kristin loves reading literature and eating authentic Mexican tacos. She and her husband, Eddy, love raising their children Judah and Selah. Kristin also has a deep affection for coffee, music, her dog (Cali) and cat (Aslan).
Tempest raises some relevant questions about faith, but strong violence may make this Korean thriller a tough watch.
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