Judas y el mesías negro

So let's start with the good. The cinematography and period setting is top notch and really puts you in the era. The acting is very good and helps with holding together a porous story.

Now for the bad. I really really wanted to love this movie. But...If you're looking for a biopic of Fred Hampton, this ain't it. Plain and simple. If you're looking for a movie that tells you more than you already knew about an understated important figure in black history, again this ain't it.

What you will get is a movie about an FBI informant who's motives are questionable at best, that happens to have Fred Hampton featured in it. If you're not versed in the names of people in Hampton's inner circle, you will be confused and have a hard time remembering who's who, as characters come and go constantly, with virtually no character development.

The movie is entertaining for the most part as the acting is quite good. But the story itself is all over the place and some scenes are longer than they need to be. You won't know much more about the great Fred Hampton, than you did before you watched this movie. It's too bad because I was waiting for this one.

People will trip over themselves to give this positive marks, but as a student of history and someone who loves a good drama in a period piece, this movie missed a great opportunity for sure.

After seeing The Trial of the Chicago 7, I read about the people involved and came across Fred Hampton's story which really fascinated me. I believe Judas and the Black Messiah did it justice.

Judas and the Black Messiah follows Bill O'Neal, a man who becomes an FBI informant to gain inside information on the Deputy Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party, Fred Hampton.

After watching the first trailer, I got goosebumps. Even after repeat viewings of the trailer, I still got goosebumps. No trailer has made me feel like that before and so I was anticipating this film for a long time. This film was unflinching in its portrayal of its events and I loved every bit of it. It may be a disappointment to some as Fred Hampton isn't in the film as much as you would think but I thought showing this story through the perspective of O'Neal was a great choice. Bill O'Neal was an interesting person who did make choices that were questionable and I liked the conflict that built over time between his allegiance to the FBI and the Black Panther Party. Lakeith Stanfield gives one of his best performances here as O'Neal. There are so many layers and nuances in his performance to give an idea of what his character is like. Despite knowing the story, I was still stunned by some of the things O'Neal does and somehow Stanfield still manages to make him somewhat sympathetic by the end.

The main attraction here is Daniel Kaluuya who is mesmerising as Fred Hampton. He pulls off the accent brilliantly and adds so much charisma and power to the dialogue by Will Berson and Shaka King. A particular scene where he's speaking to a large group of people is made so powerful by the energy and confidence Kaluuya brings to each word that comes out of his mouth. I couldn't believe this was the same man from Get Out. This is the biggest chance for him to win a Best Supporting Actor award and I hope he does. Jesse Plemons is also amazing here. I'm so happy his career is flourishing. Dominique Fishback is also fantastic and brings a level of emotion to the film.

For a second feature, this is really impressive from Shaka King. I see a great amount of confidence in his direction and writing and I'm hoping to see more of him in the future. There are a couple of shootout scenes and its depiction of violence was hard-hitting and held a substantial amount of weight to it. The score is very unusual but at the same time I liked the way it was used in the film.

All in all, Judas and the Black Messiah is a powerful film. It brings to a light an important time in history and educates us on someone that wasn't that well known. With striking performances from Kaluuya and Stanfield, this is a film that should be watched.

Amazing acting n top notch cinematography.

From the beginning and as the synopsis suggest, we as audiences are already informed about the ending but the real deal is the way it happened in reality, that really shook me up man.

This movie aint par with The Trial of the Chicago 7 as far as entertainment is concerned but it is definitely very informative and made me read about the trials n tribulations the African Americans faced. These fellas are the true champions of everything in life.

The FBI, led by J. Edgar Hoover, is focused on taking down the Black Panther Party and other leftist movements. Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) pushes car thief Bill O'Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) to be his informant and to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party. It is led by charismatic Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya) who is trying to improve Chicago and battle the racist police force.

There is an obvious connection to today's events. It's of its time and the present-day time. It's definitely taking a point of view but one can't really argue against it. For sure, it's slanted. Roy Mitchell is the key to finding balance but Jesse Plemons doesn't give him enough depth. He has one fascinating talk about Emmett Till. That's an interesting road to go for that character but it feels like he stops short. He turns into just another callous racist cop when he could be deeper. As for the other characters, Stanfield is the standout and Kaluuya is the saint. Both are great in their roles. This is a very compelling story and its relevance makes it more powerful.

I had no idea any of this actually happened, so it's great that a film was made about this. This is a powerful film that I would highly recommend.