What an actor Denzel Washington is . It's very rare that he makes a bad film . I'm not sure why it's took me so long to get around to seeing Malcolm X . Perhaps the Three Hours , Twenty Two minutes running time put me off in the past but there is no doubt , this is one of the best performance the great man has ever put in .
This is a biographical epic of the controversial and influential black nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam.
Despite it's length , I never felt this film outstayed it's welcome.
It's a well paced movie and I have to say it's much farer than I was expecting .
It highlights the good and the bad of Malcolm X and isn't just a vehicle to batter the non black population of America .
Denzel is fantastic. Not only do you feel this IS Malcolm X ( especially in the latter part of film ) you absolutely buy into his performance.
It's not his greatest ever role , I think that will always be as Alonzo in Training Day , but it's very close second .
If I had to be critical I would say it's a little self indulgent on Spike Lee's part . He casts himself as Shorty and has quite a few scenes . He , himself will admit ( I hope) that he's not a great actor and it does show at times.
The rest of the cast are superb . Angela Bassett and Delroy Lindo are always fantastic to watch and it's interesting to see early performances from Wendell Pierce and Giancarlo Esposito who both went on to star in The Wire and Breaking Bad respectively .
If you want an in-depth look at Malcolm X then this is the perfect film .
Highly recommended.
This is a biographical epic of the controversial and influential black nationalist leader, from his early life and career as a small-time gangster, to his ministry as a member of the Nation of Islam.
Despite it's length , I never felt this film outstayed it's welcome.
It's a well paced movie and I have to say it's much farer than I was expecting .
It highlights the good and the bad of Malcolm X and isn't just a vehicle to batter the non black population of America .
Denzel is fantastic. Not only do you feel this IS Malcolm X ( especially in the latter part of film ) you absolutely buy into his performance.
It's not his greatest ever role , I think that will always be as Alonzo in Training Day , but it's very close second .
If I had to be critical I would say it's a little self indulgent on Spike Lee's part . He casts himself as Shorty and has quite a few scenes . He , himself will admit ( I hope) that he's not a great actor and it does show at times.
The rest of the cast are superb . Angela Bassett and Delroy Lindo are always fantastic to watch and it's interesting to see early performances from Wendell Pierce and Giancarlo Esposito who both went on to star in The Wire and Breaking Bad respectively .
If you want an in-depth look at Malcolm X then this is the perfect film .
Highly recommended.