Alright everyone, tonight, we are going to be diving into a film that is based on a true story this time around. It is set during the 1960s, and 1970s, when racism began to arise in the US, especially in the South. Presenting, the one, and only, Judas & The Black Messiah!
Plot: William “Bill” O’Neal (Lakeith Stanfield) gets arrested in Chicago after attempting to hijack a car. He is then approached by special FBI agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons). Mitchell decides to drop the charges on O’Neal on the condition that he agrees to infiltrate the Black Panther Party (BPP), led by the leader Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). Did O’Neal succeed in pulling it off?
Wow, this is a really hood film. First off, Judas & Black Messiah does well with portraying how nice people can become corrupt, or at least get involved in the wrong crowds. Not only that, but the movie really shows how people really got persecuted in the 1960s, and 1970s. This movie does not why away from the amount of violence that took place during this time period. Oh, and it’s tragic to learn some of the psychotic acts that gang members, and violent groups did to citizens. Let me just tell you that some, if not all of those things will shock you, maybe even sicken you as well. The acting is also well done too. If none of the actors, or actresses get nominations for Best Actor, or Actress, or something along those lines, then there is something wrong with the people at the Academy Awards, and/or the Golden Globes. It’s also nice to know that there were people that worked under cover for good causes even back around this time of history. What’s even more great is that, despite how many people are in this film, Judas & The Black Messiah is excellent at honing in on those characters that this film needs to focus on. I mean there have of course been a lot of films where a movie may focus on too many characters, and some don’t seem to get as well developed as one may like. Thankfully, however, Judas & The Black Messiah doesn’t suffer from such a problem. And praise God for that! The only things that this film may suffer from is that words like the F-bomb may have been used one too many times. Seeing as a cuss word like that didn’t seem to be as common of a word during this time period, that probably may not have worked as well. But please feel free to correct me on that, if I’m wrong! Oh, and there is another thing that should be worth pointing out that may not so much be a docking if the film, but something to think about. That is the timing of the film’s release. Guy, as we know, movements like “Black Lives Matter,” and movements like those have become more common over the past year, yes? So, with this film coming out during difficult times such as this, here’s hoping that after one sees a movie like this, people don’t seem to think that “Black Lives Matter,” or movements like it are for e best, especially when in fact they seem to be for the worst, you know?
And that’s my review for Judas & The Black Messiah. If you haven’t seen this film yet, definitely do so! It will be very educational about how the Black Panthers were formed, and other things about how life operates back then. The movie can also show how bad company can seem to corrupt good character as well. Definitely go see it, and see what you think!
Final Grade: A
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 