"Judas and the Black Messiah" is a well-acted, gorgeously filmed albeit unfocused directorial showcase for Shaka King
“Judas and the Black Messiah” Film Review
70/100 “sweet/sour”
By Quinn Marcus
And thus begins my first of many 2021 movie reviews to come. I have a lot of excitement about the many films that this year has promised (if they ever come, of course). Through COVID, one of the only things that have kept me sane is the many, many films I’ve seen during the pandemic. Seriously, you could have called me a casual movie-watcher before COVID compared to the number of movies I’m watching now. Just this year, I’ve already seen 52 movies, which averages at roughly 1.08 movies a day, pretty cool huh? Anyways, you probably didn’t click on my review for me to explain math, you’re here for my review of Judas and the Black Messiah, a film that I had so much hype for…but did it live up to my expectations? Well, the short answer is…sort of. When I saw the first trailer at a private screening for Tenet, I thought that it looked like the coolest film ever, and when the first reviews arrived a few months later, man, was I pumped. Critics called it “electrifying,” some even went as far as to say it was the best they’d seen all year! Judas and the Black Messiah slowly made its way up my top 10 most anticipated films of 2021, and then it finally arrived.
Judas and the Black Messiah tells the story of Bill O’Neal who is given the option to go to jail or to redeem himself by infiltrating the Illinois Black Panther Party for the F.B.I. by getting close to the deputy chairman, Fred Hampton. As O’Neal slowly begins to realize the true purpose of the Black Panthers, he begins to question the job he was sent to do, and if he actually believes in the cause that the B.P. movement is fighting for.
One thing I learned from watching this movie is to not build up too much expectation for a film. Maybe that’s why I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to, but it wasn’t a bad film. I found myself fairly conflicted after watching it, not because I didn’t like it, but because I was just a little disappointed. There are some amazing aspects to the film that I’ll talk about later, but let’s start with some negatives. Firstly, the screenplay seemed like a first draft, it felt very thrown together, and even a tad muddled. The film flies by very quickly and doesn’t give you much time to process the information it provides, which led to me becoming pretty confused. I found myself having to run to catch up with what was going on to a point where I didn’t care enough to stay extremely invested. I also couldn’t tell if the movie was focusing on anyone, it shifts protagonists a lot, and I don’t think the writers were sure about whom they wanted the story to follow. The setup for the film is very intriguing, we’re introduced to Bill O’Neal, a character whom I was instantly interested in, but he later falls into the background quite a bit. The film, unfortunately, suffers from a lack of focus, plot-wise, and character-wise. This is one of the first films Shaka King has done, and I was quite impressed with the result, but it wasn’t without flaws.
What I absolutely loved about this film was that it didn’t restrain itself when it came to violence. The film has some gore and isn’t afraid to show it. This led to some highly effective action sequences that left me feeling angry. The film does a really good job of showing us the world of the Black Panther Movement, but it also takes dips into the irritating, disgraceful (60s) F.B.I. through Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons). It clearly gives you a side to root for even if it didn’t quite hand us a proper protagonist. The cinematography greatly surprised me as well. It was filmed by Sean Bobbitt, cinematographer of the excellent 12 Years a Slave, and he doesn’t fail to make this film look absolutely gorgeous. There was this sleek, smooth aesthetic to the film that added immensely to the overall tone. The musical score was absolutely brilliant as well. Composed by Mark Isham and Craig Harris, I haven’t heard such a unique soundtrack in a while, but these men clearly knew what they were doing. Despite being messy as a package, Shaka King handles his scenes very well, particularly a finale that left my jaw-dropping even after the credits began to roll. It’s a tough final 10 minutes to get through, but as a fan of drama, this is what I like to see.
The cast pretty much carries this movie in my opinion. Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) deserves an Oscar for the work he did in this movie. I knew his performance was special the moment he gives a certain passionate speech in the film when he returns from prison. He’s absolutely incredible throughout the film, so natural, and full of intensity. I rarely find two actors in a single film that are award-worthy, but LaKeith Stanfield (Selma) was also amazing. His performance was mostly quiet, but he handles his character’s emotional dilemma powerfully. There are some looks he makes when reacting to certain things that had so much emotional heft to them, that he didn’t need that much dialogue.
The final verdict is…Judas and the Black Messiah may be bogged down by its uneven narrative, but its flaws are often offset by its technical aspects as well as two marvelous starring performances…$TREAM IT!