- RELEASED: 2020
- RUNTIME: 156 mins
- WRITTEN BY: Spike Lee, Danny Bilson, Paul De Meo, Kevin Willmott
- DIRECTED BY: Spike Lee
- STARRING: Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Mélanie Thierry, Paul Walter Hauser
This is one very messy beast of a film. A lot of it worked for me and a lot of it didn’t. Of course, I love how it explores very timely and important themes and ideas, even if some of them (like the Trump and MAGA references) are a bit half-baked and it has some fantastic performances, especially from Delroy Lindo and Jonathan Majors. However, it’s a film with a lot of moving puzzle pieces that don’t always fall into place. The first act feels really choppy and emotionally distant. It’s not till we get to the second act when it really picks up. Everybody’s gonna be talking about that one scene in the jungle during the second act. Talk about tension. But as moving as it can be, there are also moments that feel somewhat unearned and forced. There are also a lot of predictable scenes and strange stylistic choices. When I noticed that the actors weren’t de-aged during the flashbacks, I was really taken out of it. Also, the flashback battle sequences weren’t very tastefully directed in my opinion. Overall though, as flawed as this movie is, the positives are enough to make it worthwhile and by the end, I did find it pretty powerful. I’m just glad to finally have some brand new movies to watch.