Directed By Shaka King; Written By Will Berson & Shaka King; Story By Will Person & Shake King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas; Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Algee Smith, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Dominique Thorne, and Martin Sheen.
Based on a true story, Judas and the Black Messiah centers on William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), a petty criminal who agrees to work as an informant for the FBI in order to infiltrate the national Black Panther Party. Though he must also take down the chairman of its Illinois chapter Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). This movie was originally scheduled to be released in theaters nationwide on August 21st, 2020, but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the studio, Warner Brothers, is still planning to give its entire slate of films for 2021 theatrical releases, they're also going to give each of them exclusive one month period on their streaming service, HBO Max. As a result, Judas and the Black Messiah is one of those movies being given that treatment.
As for my thoughts on the film, under the direction of Shaka King, he's able to depict the raids of the Black Panther Party in what I found to be quite a raw and tense way. Though for the smaller character moments, he gently approaches those in a very tender way. Daniel Kaluuya gives such a powerhouse performance as Fred Hampton, where he not only gives such commanding speeches at certain points in the film, but he also shares some heartfelt chemistry with his girlfriend, played by Dominique Fishback. Lakeith Stanfield is also great as FBI informant Bill O'Neal, who infiltrates the Black Panther Party.
Overall, I found Judas and the Black Messiah to be a very culturally relevant movie that is well worth watching. It is currently available to stream on HBO Max through March 14th.
Rating: 4/5
Based on a true story, Judas and the Black Messiah centers on William O'Neal (Lakeith Stanfield), a petty criminal who agrees to work as an informant for the FBI in order to infiltrate the national Black Panther Party. Though he must also take down the chairman of its Illinois chapter Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). This movie was originally scheduled to be released in theaters nationwide on August 21st, 2020, but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the studio, Warner Brothers, is still planning to give its entire slate of films for 2021 theatrical releases, they're also going to give each of them exclusive one month period on their streaming service, HBO Max. As a result, Judas and the Black Messiah is one of those movies being given that treatment.
As for my thoughts on the film, under the direction of Shaka King, he's able to depict the raids of the Black Panther Party in what I found to be quite a raw and tense way. Though for the smaller character moments, he gently approaches those in a very tender way. Daniel Kaluuya gives such a powerhouse performance as Fred Hampton, where he not only gives such commanding speeches at certain points in the film, but he also shares some heartfelt chemistry with his girlfriend, played by Dominique Fishback. Lakeith Stanfield is also great as FBI informant Bill O'Neal, who infiltrates the Black Panther Party.
Overall, I found Judas and the Black Messiah to be a very culturally relevant movie that is well worth watching. It is currently available to stream on HBO Max through March 14th.
Rating: 4/5