‘Set It Off’,’ is the offspring you would get if you crossed ‘Fried Green Tomatoes ‘ with ‘Boyz in The Hood.’In other words it is the perfect combination of the emotional bonding of a ‘chick flick’ and the chaotic violence of action movies. Directed by F. Gary Gray, ‘Set it Off’ takes both these contradictory descriptions and combines them nicely into a hit movie no one should miss. First there is the ‘chick flick’ elements. The movie begins with the mundane lives of four African-American women who grew up together in the projects of Los Angeles. Stony (Jada Pinkett), Cleo (Queen Latifah), Tisean (Kimberly Elise), and Frankie (Vivica Fox) dream of getting out of the violent and degenerate environment they live in. They console each other when tragedy strikes. Frankie loses her job as a bank teller, Stony’s brother is accidentally killed by trigger happy police and Tisean’s baby is taken away by children services when he accidentally drinks cleaning chemicals. Then there is the action element. The four decide that they would never have enough money to get out of the ‘hood’ or solve their mounting problems working at their underpaid jobs. When things get worse they decide to become bank robbers. They are successful on their first couple of robberies, but when someone steals the money they had hidden, they decide to rob the biggest bank in Los Angeles. A fateful decision which results in a tragic ending.This plot is dramatic and exciting. The characters are believable and colorful. The acting is good, especially Queen Latifah, who is the perfect actress to play the strong, easily angered and wild Cleo.The only weakness in the movie is the same weakness that plagues most action movies. You know the act, it takes a gazillion rounds to kill someone, a car can take a quick 90 degree turn without busting an axle, the obligatory car crash where amazingly people survive without a scratch. Other than the usual action movie cliches, ‘Set it Off’ is great entertainment. It’s not as dramatic as ‘Boyz in the Hood’ but it’s more realistic than ‘New Jack City.’ It’s a good movie and definitely worth the price of admission.