DigDog
Lifer
- Jun 3, 2011
- 13,772
- 2,280
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i watched The Great Debaters - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427309/reference/
Denzel Washington, BUT he just exits stage left before the end, which is instead given to the worst of the 4 protagonist characters.
1935, Jim Crow south. A group of college youths are in Denzel's debate team. They plan is to debate the heck out of every other college to push Harvard into sending them an invitation, which happens. There is also a subplot about Denzel being "a communist", involved with trying to unionize the local farmhands, but the only relevance to the plot is that he's not there for the final showdown.
And, the showdown is pretty lame. The Harvard debate team, which should pose as the villain, is weak AF, leaving the younger black boy to give a not terribly inspiring speech on civil liberties that frankly has been done better in EVERY film about black civil liberties. Watch instead, idk, The Green Book, Do The Right Thing or any Spike Lee film, Coach Carter, Hidden Figures idk literally any other film with the same theme, and you'll get a better resolution.
Film's otherwise competently done, so not like it's a complete waste of time.
6/10
Denzel Washington, BUT he just exits stage left before the end, which is instead given to the worst of the 4 protagonist characters.
1935, Jim Crow south. A group of college youths are in Denzel's debate team. They plan is to debate the heck out of every other college to push Harvard into sending them an invitation, which happens. There is also a subplot about Denzel being "a communist", involved with trying to unionize the local farmhands, but the only relevance to the plot is that he's not there for the final showdown.
And, the showdown is pretty lame. The Harvard debate team, which should pose as the villain, is weak AF, leaving the younger black boy to give a not terribly inspiring speech on civil liberties that frankly has been done better in EVERY film about black civil liberties. Watch instead, idk, The Green Book, Do The Right Thing or any Spike Lee film, Coach Carter, Hidden Figures idk literally any other film with the same theme, and you'll get a better resolution.
Film's otherwise competently done, so not like it's a complete waste of time.
6/10