An average movie

Since I always been a big fan of Spike Lee’s work, I was really eager to check this movie. It is one of his more obscure directorial efforts but I’m surprised it took me so long to watch the damned thing. Well, I wish it would have been worth waiting for so long. I mean, it wasn’t bad at all. In fact, after ‘Malcolm X’, it was probably Lee’s most ambitious movie, it was telling a very important story and it could have been amazing. Unfortunately, the damned thing was just too long and too convoluted. Here and there, you did have some really strong scenes but most of it was pretty much going nowhere. You kept also getting some famous faces but they had so little impact, they could and probably should have been removed. The most bewildering example was the scene involving John Leguizamo which was probably one of the most random scenes I have ever seen. I have to admit that it didn’t help that I saw it on YouTube without subtitles and I really struggled to follow what was going on during the scenes where they spoke German and Italian, two languages I don’t speak. I guess I might have to rewatch it at some point with some proper subtitles but, to be honest, I don’t think it will really change my mind about this movie. Concerning the cast, it was a great opportunity to showcase some Black US talents, especially in this squad but, unfortunately, as the damned thing kept meandering the whole time, they never got the opportunity to really shine. One notable example was Michael Ealy, not really because he was so much better than the rest (his character was intriguing though), but mostly because I always thought he was such a bland and boring actor. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, I still think it is an interesting watch and it is worth a look, especially if you are interested in Spike Lee’s work. 

6/10