Just fantastic. Shaka King takes a crucial moment in history that could feel so cloying and unfocused in the hands of a less careful director, and gives us a smart, uncompromising tragedy about fear and power that properly portrays Bill O’Neal’s story as both a slave rebellion and an act of war. Lakeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya are exactly as great as you think they’re gonna be, if not better, but Shaka King’s name better reverberate through the halls of every studio after this.

Fred Hampton was 21 years old when he was murdered by the FBI. Twenty-one years old.

if your ensemble has lakeith stanfield in it, it’s gonna be a good film. devastating from beginning to end.

in my opinion we do not have a more entrancing, magnetic, fizzling, romantic, riveting, endlessly watchable actor in our ("our") generation than Daniel Kaluuya

In a perfect world this would win Best Picture over The Trial of the Chicago 7

i agree jesse plemons, we should give lakeith stanfield an academy award!!!

SUNDANCE 2021: film #25

“takes a thief to catch a thief”

SO well made. the performances here are on another level and all merit mentioning but i think my favorite was dominique fishback who brings both vulnerability and strength to the role. my money is on daniel for the oscar

best picture marathon: film #6

“anywhere there's people, there's power”

always keeps our focus right where it needs to be and in turn the emotional weight of every scene feels just as heavy as intended. just phenomenal filmmaking with amazing performances all around that never feel overzealous or phoned in. daniel is my personal choice for best supporting (the way he speaks softly to his loved ones is just as impressive as the way he commands a room of hundreds) but lakeith is just as good (lakeith is always good). i do have to say that my favorite performance is still dominique fishback who was absolutely devastating but still perfectly composed from scene to scene (snubbed, snubbed, snuuuuuubbed!). it felt a little long upon rewatch but that might have just been my exhaustion instead of the film’s pacing. overall this really is a must see

Fuck, man. What else is there to say?

Career topping performances for both Kaluuya and Stanfield which is impressive considering how amazing their careers already are.

The single biggest weakness this film has is that it’s stars are much older than the people they were portraying. The effect this has is to diminish what’s most appalling about the stories of O’Neill and Hampton — that they were little more than children, manipulated and murdered by their government. 

I have no complaints with the performances themselves — although I think O’Neill is underwritten — and I think the film as a whole is very strong. But the age thing is a serious problem.

Kaluuya's tremendous performance here pretty much makes up for O'Neal being somewhat underwritten. I get making him a character of ambivalence but Stanfield seems to be emotionally pitched at a guy whose psyche gradually begins engaging in open revolt but whose historical and narrative actions don't line up with that. This is brutally timely, though, in a way that doesn't feel like it's the project's sole priority. I just wish it had been grittier, more confrontational, but in any case it's altogether striking and energetic.

Riveting and significant. Movies are great, this one in particular

I thought it was cool to see this story after watching Trial of Chicago 7 where this crosses over partly. Daniel Kaluya is incredible in the film as expected, and overall it was a really well shot film.

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

lakeith stanfield fan acc

Kaluuya was feeling it in this one

happy to see luyindama in the movie

This script is vastly improved by its actors and yet, the brilliant historical characters are still quite obscure by its end

There’s a shot near the beginning where Lakeith Stansfield is standing next to a car smoking, and the shot looked really cool, and I thought to myself “that looks really cool”

Aside from that Lakeith was excellent as always, Daniel Kaluuya was great, all of the performances were great really. There were a few slight dips in engagement for me but overall it was an exciting and gripping film. The last twenty minutes especially were amazing, and very emotional.

really important film, and well maked. the photography is not good tho

It plays out as if the thought process behind its production was “wouldn’t it be cool if we made a Fred Hampton movie?” and never develops any thesis past “we’re making a Fred Hampton movie.”

Brimming with tension and palpable anger, King’s film encases Hampton’s story in a biographical thriller that is as enjoyable to watch as it is educationally essential.

Fred Hampton was 21 years old when he was murdered by the police

Fred Hampton was 21 years old

21 years old
                  Twenty one
21

There is not much to say but that this film broke me just like I knew it would. I will hopefully watch the documentary about him tonight as well. His story is so important. Oh! And Daniel Kaluuya is just fantastic. Brilliant actor. So is LaKeith Stanfield.

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