The Wood review

Why you can trust GamesRadar+ Our experts review games, movies and tech over countless hours, so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about our reviews policy.

The days of playing maids and houseboys may be long gone, but it's never been easy being black in Hollywood. After the initial creative surge of Do The Right Thing and Boyz N The Hood, black actors and directors had a tough few years trying to avoid the pitfalls of racial stereotyping. Post-Will Smith, though, this MTV-produced comedy drama is a bold and enjoyable attempt to make a mainstream African-American movie that doesn't trot out the usual cliches.

Based on the childhood experiences of first-time helmer Famuyiwa, who penned the screenplay while working at Niketown, The Wood takes its name from Inglewood, a normal middle-class suburb. In the first flashback, 14-year-old residents Roland and Slim try to scare new boy Mike, fresh in from North Carolina, with tales of gang shootings, but Famuyiwa makes a point of avoiding major drama. The first gang members the boys encounter are laughably inept and terrified at the thought of ending up in chokey. Nobody gets addicted to crack and nobody dies in a drive-by.

Most of the laughs - and they include some rib-tickling set pieces 'stem from a keen understanding of the idiocy of hormone-addled teenage boys: the crap attempts at sexy dancing, the daft clothes and the endless bravado. Thanks to the spot-on period detail, with each flashback triggered by a classic tune from hip hop's golden age, it's nostalgia with bite. Looking back at their younger selves (superbly played by Sean Nelson, Duane Finley and Trent Cameron), Mike, Slim and Roland realise being in their 20's and settling down doesn't have to seem so bad.

If you think all of this whiffs of sentimentality, you'd be half-right, and some of the slushier moments are overdone. The plot, too, is fairly predictable... Will Roland walk up the aisle? Will Mike reunite with his high school sweetheart? Work it out for yourself - but the immensely likeable cast and affectionate humour compensate healthily. By making a virtue of portraying ordinary people in ordinary situations without overplaying, The Wood thank- fully avoids the need to be tagged as a black film, just as a good one.

Deliberately short on thrills, this study of friendship and nostalgia bobs along nicely, with plenty of comic moments. With echoes of Dazed And Confused and Swingers, it's a feelgood flick for twentysomething blokes who are soft at heart.

The Total Film team are made up of the finest minds in all of film journalism. They are: Editor Jane Crowther, Deputy Editor Matt Maytum, Reviews Ed Matthew Leyland, News Editor Jordan Farley, and Online Editor Emily Murray. Expect exclusive news, reviews, features, and more from the team behind the smarter movie magazine. 

Latest in Action Movies
Michael Fassbender in Black Bag
X-Men star Michael Fassbender says he auditioned for James Bond, but ended up suggesting they go for Daniel Craig: "I don't know why I was promoting him"
Warfare movie
First reactions to Ex Machina director's "intense" new war movie are comparing it to Black Hawk Down
Jack Quaid in The Boys
The Boys star and self-proclaimed "huge video game nerd" Jack Quaid says his dream role would be in a BioShock movie because it's "one of my favorite games of all time"
Gemma Chan in Eternals
Eternals star Gemma Chan is hopeful she'll return to the MCU someday: "There's unfinished business there"
All You Need is Kill anime
Graphic novel that inspired one of Tom Cruise's highest-rated actioners is being turned into an anime movie
Sadie Sink as Max Mayfield in Stranger Things 4
Stranger Things star Sadie Sink joins Spider-Man 4 and fans are already theorizing she might be X-Men’s Jean Grey
Latest in Reviews
A reviewer turning the modules of the Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot
Turtle Beach Stealth Pivot review: “Its novel concept of a spinning, modular design is hamstrung by its lack of options”
Razer USB 4 Dock in silver on a wooden desk
Razer USB 4 Dock review: "solid, reliable, and surprisingly well-priced"
Lenovo Legion Go S with FlyKnight gameplay on screen featuring player character holding bow and arrow with enemy ant in backdrop.
Lenovo Legion Go S Windows 11 review: “my heart aches for this mixed up handheld”
Talisman 5th Edition game components
Talisman 5th Edition review: "The characterful imperfections of the original game remain clear to see "
WWE 2K25
WWE 2K25 review: "A colossal package even if you never go anywhere near Virtual Currency"
Altered: Trial by Frost booster box and packs on a playmat
Altered: Trial by Frost review - "Satisfying enough to offer highly varied gameplay"