A Spider-Verse Star's Gritty Heist Movie With Ethan Hawke Is A Must-Watch On Netflix

Shameik Moore has gained attention for voicing Miles Morales in the "Spider-Verse" films, but he's also got a live-action acting career to tend to. In 2020, he shared the screen with Hollywood veteran Ethan Hawke in "Cut Throat City," a bold and gritty heist drama that's now streaming on Netflix. 

Directed by RZA of Wu-Tang Clan fame, "Cut Throat City" is centered around Blink (Moore), an aspiring graphic novelist who struggles financially after Hurricane Katrina decimates his life. Hoping to protect his wife, Demyra (Kat Graham), and his son, Blink takes drastic actions. Along with his friends Miracle (Demetrius Shipp Jr.), Andre (Denzel Whitaker), and Junior (Keean Johnson), Blink attempts a casino burglary for drug kingpin Lorenzo Bass (T.I.). The robbery goes sideways, and Blink and his surviving friends are soon in hiding. They try to get help wherever they can find it, from miscreants (Terrence Howard) and politicians (Hawke) alike. Blink is soon presented with a choice between pursuing his artistic ambitions and surrendering to a life of crime.

"Cut Throat City" made less than a million dollars from a budget of $8 million, making it a box office flop. General audiences didn't react well to the film. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has a 38% Popcornmeter score, and on IMDb, it has a rating of 4.9. However, the majority of professional critics reviewed "Cut Throat City" positively: It has a respectable score of 72% on the Tomatometer, with many top outlets singing its praises. The Los Angeles Times called it a "thoughtful and personal film concerned with how systemic racism — and zoning ordinances — can kill more people than a gun."

Shameik Moore debuted as Miles Morales in 2018's "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" and he reprised the role in the 2023 sequel "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse." He's teased on Instagram that he's already started recording lines for the third film in the series, 2027's "Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse." When he's not in the vocal booth, he keeps himself quite busy with live-action projects.

Moore has done a handful of films between "Spider-Verse" outings. He showed up in Netflix's 2019 Christmas rom-com "Let It Snow," where he plays Stuart, a pop star who finds himself stuck in a small American town. He had a minor part in the Sylvester Stallone superhero film "Samaritan" in 2022, and, more recently, he played the lead in the outrageous 2024 sports comedy "The Gutter," starring as gifted bowler Walt. His television career has been equally interesting; Moore portrayed real-life rapper Raekwon in "Wu-Tang: An American Saga" for three seasons. He currently plays drug lord Branford "Breeze" Frady in "Power Book III: Raising Kanan" — definitely a show that crime drama fans need to watch.

Taking on the part of Raekwon in particular influenced Moore's offscreen life, as he's also a musician. "Me being Raekwon makes it okay for me to do more rapping in my music," he told Essence. "At first, I was definitely more lovey-dovey, very relationshipy in my music." Moore has uploaded a lot of music to SoundCloud over the years, including an EP called "30058" and a mixtape called "I Am Da Beat." He released his most recent song, "Clean Slate," on YouTube in December 2024 with the promise that he was working on more new tracks. His musical output proves that Moore possesses versatility and virtuosity — qualities that Miles himself would appreciate.