Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Mischa Redfern I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

merelyaninnuendo Malcolm X2 And A Half Out Of 5Malcolm X is a character driven feature that focuses on justifying the characters rather than rechecking the material twice or even a clock for that matter. The journey of the protagonist depicted in here is a bit overstretched and not elaborated which comes off as a bit downer but since there is enough concrete material to feed the audience throughout the course of it, one can easily neglect it. It is short on technical aspects like cinematography, background score, art design, sound department and editing although is rich on costume and production design. The writing follows a rudimentary process of a rigid structure that is extracted directly from the textbook, it lacks maturity and smarter approach. The screenplay by Arnold Perl and Spike Lee is effective and creates a greater impact than anticipated among the viewers but unfortunately it also lags a lot. Spike Lee; the screenwriter and director, has done a tremendous work on executing the script on screen and it is undeniably Lee's feature as he speaks volume in every frame. The performance objective is taken hold by Denzel Washington with conviction and he does carry it all on his shoulder with head held high for around 200 minutes. Malcolm X is a process of suffering for attaining an uneven and imbalance state of peace that results in so latter, that the audience barely cares about the outcomes for they are having a time of their life encountering just the process.

jb_campo Denzel anchors this biopic about the life of activist Malcolm X. You learn about his young beginnings, youthful upbringing, how he became transformed into the Islamic leader, then his eventual disillusionment and further transformation.This story was a fascinating view with strong acting by Denzel. He seems to thrive in characters where he can go a little over the top though, and at times, that can get a bit tiring, much like in the more recent Fences, where his non-stop action is something you cannot keep up with. Malcolm X was a bit like that, but you saw that Malcolm had a deliberateness and an immediacy to his actions that pushed action.The setting was inner city with excellent costumes. His friend shorty and his other crew grew up to support and eventually adore Malcolm, but he also gained enemies. As his views started to venture from the strict Islam line, he created enemies. The film got a bit slow at times, but Angela Basset as his girl helped bring a nice evenness to the plot by solidly standing by her man thru thick and thin. This movie was a fascinating view of how a person can change colors, while always still doing the right thing according to their convictions. Such morals as Islam play a big role in our world today. Watching Malcolm X will help you understand how there can be good parts to it, but also abuses of it that are not good.I hope you enjoy Malcolm X.

Josh Gronwold (jgronwold) Spike Lee's Malcolm X is an outstanding example of a movie that stays to its source. However, I feel it is necessary to tell people that the novel written by Alex Haley with the help of Malcolm X is even more important than Lee's spectacular movie. In Lee's film, Malcolm never reaches the level of honesty that he does in the novel. Instead, Lee uses everything else in his arsenal to tell this compelling story. He tells most of Malcolm young life through flashbacks that just don't seem authentic and they feel rushed, but at the same time his use of color, lighting, and sound is phenomenal. The first third or so of the movie it runs through Malcolm's life as a hustler and during this time Lee uses very bright lighting and colors to give this part of the film a feeling of joy and it almost feels like it is to good to be true. However, in the novel there is a completely different feeling when reading it. You feel sorry for everything Malcolm had to go through as a child and reading about him making bad choices never really feels happy at all. Along with the color, Lee does an amazing job in large crowds. There is a scene when Malcolm arrives in New York and there is a huge gathering in the street and the camera zooms out but you never lose sight of Malcolm because he is the only one wearing somewhat bright clothes. Lee take on Malcolm being this beacon of light perhaps? If you are thinking about watching this movie I highly recommend it and it shouldn't be missed, but you shouldn't miss out on the novel as well. Each are very important stories told in different, but honest, ways.

Michael Garcia Spike Lee's adaptation of the Autobiography of Malcolm X is a masterpiece that brings the world's understanding and connection to Malcolm one step closer. Spike Lee's use of filter changes and diegetic sound through the course of the film portrays Malcolm's change in consciousness and the direction of his life. In the first part of the movie we see Malcolm's life as a young man and later a hustler. Colors are seen as bright and vivid which adds to a cartoonish sense of his actions in this part of his life. The conking and zoots suits all seem surreal as to portray Malcolm's reflection of his past. Behind these scenes, jazz music is constantly playing as if the backdrop of a cartoon. In the novel, Malcolm explains that he now knows how such things were all apart of the white man's power over blacks and sees his past as childish. Spike lee later illustrates the dramatic change of Malcolm's life when he is sent to prison, by changing the filter and making shots longer and a darker contrast. Spike Lee shows this darkness at a peak when Malcolm is locked in solitary confinement. The pitch black scene is frighting and the blinding that follows when the door is opened seems divine. Soon after he is brought out of the darkness, he finds Islam with the help of a fellow inmate. Spike Lee, with this use of dark and light contrast, as well as the removal of the diegetic jazz music, shows Malcolm X's change in his life and his path to Islam being his escape from the white man's oppression. I really appreciated this use of contrast to the previous scenes of his life as a hustler. Spike Lee through this contrast was able to present Malcolm's transformation more personally to the viewer than they would have if they had only read the autobiography. As the film progresses from then on, it is a more biographical, informative, representation of Malcolm's life but keeps the personal connection Spike Lee created in the first half intact with many close up shots of Malcolm X. When you reach the final death scene in the film, you truly feel the loss of an important man. The connection that Spike Lee creates with his film can not be overlooked and is only a part of what makes this film an amazing piece of art.