Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
Genre: Biography / Crime
Duration: 126 minuten
Alternative title: Judas & the Black Messiah
Country:
United States / Canada
Directed by: Shaka King
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield and Jesse Plemons
IMDb score:
7,4 (115.434)
Releasedate: 12 February 2021
Judas and the Black Messiah plot
"You can kill a revolutionary but you can't kill the revolution."
In 1968, young, charismatic activist Fred Hampton becomes chairman of the Illinois branch of the Black Panther Party, a party that aims to end police brutality and the murder of blacks and fight for freedom and self-determination within the black community. Hampton inspires an entire generation to take action against oppression, leading him to be seen as a threat by the Chicago government, FBI and police. The authorities want to crush the revolution and then use William O'Neal as an infiltrator to silence Hampton.
Social Media
Actors and actresses
Bill O'Neal
Fred Hampton
Deborah Johnson
Roy Mitchell
Jimmy Palmer
Jake Winters
Bobby Rush
Wayne
Judy Harmon
J. Edgar Hoover
Reviews & comments
YouDrunkGoHome
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- 401 messages
- 635 votes
LaKeith Stanfield plays Bill O'Neill, a man recruited by the FBI as an undercover agent to sabotage the Black Panther movement (an organization fighting the oppression of African Americans) from within. To do this, he must first gain the trust of the group's young leader, Fred Hampton.
I actually didn't know this true story behind the Black Panther Party at all, but it left quite an impression on me. The film does not shy away from showing the dark side of the movement every now and then, but especially the way in which the FBI and the police have worked on this case is downright nasty.
If I have to mention a downside, it is that the film mainly focuses on Bill O'Neill, where in my opinion it could have focused a little more on Fred Hampton. His role is certainly not small, but at the end I kind of got the feeling that he deserved more screen time. Almost everyone's acting is excellent, but Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton steals the show in every scene he appears. The way he brings the different speeches in the film to life gave me goosebumps every time. I would therefore have liked to have gone into more depth about his motivations and how his fight against oppression came about.
For anyone who, like me, doesn't know the story yet, I advise you to enter the film as blind as possible. I think events will stick best this way. And that is perhaps most important in this day and age, when the subject is probably more relevant than ever.
Translated from Dutch · View original
scorsese
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- 13431 messages
- 11265 votes
Good film about a criminal who goes to work for the FBI as an undercover agent for the Black Panthers in the late 1960s. It takes a while for the film to get going, but it gets better and better with some good scenes. Two fascinating main characters who actually each deserve their own film (the film also lacks some focus in this respect). Excellent acting, but just short of 4.0 stars.
Translated from Dutch · View original
eRCee
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- 13453 messages
- 1981 votes
Impressive physical presence of Kaluuya. That's about half the movie. Unlike most here, I didn't think there was a lack of focus. Following the two opposites seemed to me to be a valuable broadening of the perspective and it also makes it a little less of a standard story. A few scenes tell it all, such as the meeting of the FBI where the racist motives are exposed, but also how Fred and Jake Winters' mother share a memory in the kitchen. Nice use of color too: that red car, for example, really splashes off the screen! The end of Judas and the Black Messiah cuts in and that is not only due to the tragedy of history, but also to the way in which the makers bring it and especially know how to make it personal.
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