Paper Soldiers

Paper Soldiers is a 2002 American urban crime comedy film. This hip-hop comedy from Roc-A-Fella's film division stars Kevin Hart (in his film debut), Beanie Sigel, and Stacey Dash. Rapper Jay-Z appears in a cameo role. Hart plays the character Shawn, a rookie thief, who is part of a crew of thieves, doing small-time jobs like house breaking.

The crew itself is not exactly a highly polished operation, and the crew's capers result in comic mishaps far more often than actual thefts. They still manage to do some jobs like breaking into Jay-Z's house and robbing some of its material goods, but predictably, they receive prison time for robbery or aggravated assault.

Beanie Sigel plays Stu, a hot-headed hood bully who does small robberies to make some cash, while Damon Dash and Memphis Bleek act as thieves of another crew, and Stacey Dash is a beautiful woman named Tamika. Jay-Z appears as himself. Released on June 7, 2002, it was produced by Roc-A-Fella and distributed by Universal Pictures.

Plot
Shawn attends his mother's funeral with his girlfriend Monique and their son. His friend Burtie tries to convince Shawn to do some theft jobs, which Shawn declines. Shawn's parole officer then informs him that his next urine test needs to be clean and that he must keep his job at the beeper shop. Frustrated with his low paycheck and utilities being turned off, he decides to accept Burtie's offer and they begin robbing homes. Shawn is happy, as he is receiving more money with burglaries than he gets at his job.

Shawn and his friend Stu, just released from jail, decide to rob a house. A neighbor spots them and they flee. Detectives Johnson and Travis receive the report and a car chase ensues. Shawn escapes, but Stu is arrested.

With Burtie in jail, Shawn visits Burtie's brother Will and asks to join his crew. Will accepts and trains him. Will's partner Larry joins the two on a house job. Will sees a security system wire is cut and they notice the back door is open. When they walk in, they find Damon Dash and Memphis Bleek robbing the home. Much to Shawn's surprise, the two are already familiar with Will and Larry, and they agree to find what they can there and split the earnings. Shawn and Johnny later rob Jay-Z's home.

Shawn then takes Monique out to celebrate his birthday at a club, along with Will, Larry and Johnny. Shawn sees recently-released Stu, who then notices Pat, the mother of his kids, out with a man named Rudy. Stu confronts them and then attacks Rudy. After this, Rudy tries to leave with Pat to her home but she rejects him. He then assaults her. Pat calls Stu and Stu gets Shawn to go with him as he assaults Rudy.

Shawn's parole officer informs him that he failed the urine test, and another failure will lead to jail time. After being fired from his job, Shawn's co-worker Kay asks if he could join in on the burglaries, which Shawn accepts, bringing Kay along as a driver and lookout. After Shawn and Johnny enter a home, a paranoid Kay leaves. As Shawn and Johnny exit the home, they see Kay has left. Kay comes back and picks them up. After a police chase, Shawn and Johnny escape, but Kay is caught.

At home, Shawn argues with Monique over his crimes. The next day, Shawn's parole officer informs him of another failed urine test. As she calls authorities, Shawn flees. He then meets Will and Larry at an auto body shop. They talk business with shop employee Mikey O, and he informs them about a home with lots of money.

Mikey O sends his friend Mike E. to go with them. Detectives Johnson and Travis track them down. Mike E. and Larry are caught, but Shawn and Will escape. As Shawn prepares to flee town, he goes home to say goodbye to Monique and their son, finding an empty house.

Police arrive and Shawn is eventually caught. He receives a 6-12-year prison sentence, but serves less on good behavior. The film ends as it began, with Shawn playing dominoes with Burtie and Johnny, as he delivers a message to the audience to not break into homes.

Reception
Nathan Rabin gave the film a mixed review in The Dissolve, claiming the film was an example of "rapsploitation" and that plot was "wobbly", while also crediting the film for being able to bring "its world context and color".