Read Mixed User Reviews for BlacKkKlansman

6

marco34laAug 11, 2018

This is a decent movie. It has some moments and it could have been better. It falls apart at the end, sort of anti-climatic in terms of the script, then it goes into propaganda over-drive by editorializing about trump and protest rallies inThis is a decent movie. It has some moments and it could have been better. It falls apart at the end, sort of anti-climatic in terms of the script, then it goes into propaganda over-drive by editorializing about trump and protest rallies in 2017. Spike Lee... sometimes LESS is more, buddy.… Expand

21 of 37 users found this helpful2116

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6

FrogacudaAug 26, 2018

An entertaining and likeable film, but much of it beggars belief. Its portrayal of the police as a force to fight racism is an all-too-generous distortion that borders on fabrication, and many of the characters come off like one-dimensionalAn entertaining and likeable film, but much of it beggars belief. Its portrayal of the police as a force to fight racism is an all-too-generous distortion that borders on fabrication, and many of the characters come off like one-dimensional cartoons. This would be less troubling if it wasn't billing itself as a true story, but the fact that it is makes it feel misleading rather than just broad.… Expand

3 of 3 users found this helpful30

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5

foxgroveAug 25, 2018

Watchable, but vastly over rated not to mention overlong. This dissection of racism could only be made by a black man and comes over smelling of propaganda. The white man is painted less than his skin colour whilst the black man is cast asWatchable, but vastly over rated not to mention overlong. This dissection of racism could only be made by a black man and comes over smelling of propaganda. The white man is painted less than his skin colour whilst the black man is cast as the hero. Hate is certainly the order of the day here, I would just question at whom that hate is aimed. A dangerous and provocative film that isn't actually that good!… Expand

6 of 9 users found this helpful63

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6

TrevorsViewAug 16, 2018

Kidding? I’m not right now. Racial tensions are still as horrific as ever, it now seems every month there is a new film made to empower Black people while exploring those unjustified relations between them and White people. So appropriatelyKidding? I’m not right now. Racial tensions are still as horrific as ever, it now seems every month there is a new film made to empower Black people while exploring those unjustified relations between them and White people. So appropriately enough, filmmaking legend Spike Lee gives us BlacKkKlansman to explore those very relations in a time when White cops kill innocent Blacks like dogs. Even when history books have records of the “Black Panther Party” threatening the United States back in the 1970s, the message is clear: We need to stop and learn from our historical darkness.

Kicking the can more, this film has a humorous plot scenario pulled straight out of real life: a Black guy applies to be a cop, leading him to work undercover. Essentially, he pretends to be White on the phone as he speaks to the leaders of a secret Ku Klux Klan organization, leading to that undercover investigation where his White partner pretends to be him. Beyond the mere ironic comedy, this Klan’s planned massacre of Blacks becomes quite disturbing as they are seen praying to God, complete with an oil anointment before they do their cross burning. This new Boston Tea Party as they call it is all a part of their plan to make America achieve its greatness again… because apparently they made America and must keep it for themselves. That mindset is visualized by a stain glass window with the words “Thine O Lord is the Victory” behind those who think they understand God’s will, but truly have the knowledge of a snowflake.

Key here may be Spike Lee’s history of exploring Blackness in America, but he’s trying way too hard to connect the early 1970s to today. That especially goes this movie’s historical inaccuracy, “Stallworth's real colleague wasn't called Flip Zimmerman - his true identity remains a mystery, in accounts known only as Chuck - and there's no indication that he was Jewish.” (ScreenRant) At least the expert acting is easy to like, as nobody ever tarries in their performances, always racing on their palms to let the true soul of Blackness come out. Yet I most want to commend how Paul Walter Hauser particularly confronts his role well as a Klansman damaged beyond repair, like he’s half-a-man dragged down onto the cement pavement.

Klans such as this one will certainly give anyone watching strong opinions, just don’t expect that to mean the character arcs will be the thing to suck you in to this film’s humanity. While effective, the main romantic subplot was unnecessary in influencing the protagonist or reconnecting him much with Black culture. His partners in crime also don’t seem influenced much by being involved with the Klan during their undercover case. Those Klansmen they bamboozle likewise are not multidimensional enough with clear fears written down on paper.

Kennedy would not have wanted to see this type of future after being assassinated in his Ford, but it happened, as the sincere nature of this film is kept through an inspirational speech at the Black Student Union of Colorado College. This whole scene helps you to listen, then the script hops right back onto its tongue-in-cheek humor, including how Blacks pronouncing “are” as “are-uh” puts a halt in our understanding. Then topping all the memorable lines off in the cleverly detailed dialogue is an awesome phone call that speaks fluent Jive, a very lively form of English! But the artistic language rich with racial segregation sadly is not helped by the handheld camera that could very well been supported by a gorilla.

King Kong may have had a bit of word to say in the editing and cinematography, but that’s not what will affect you the most while watching… it will be the realism. You’ll feel disturbed to see this KKK’s gunfire practice use targets of running black silhouettes in the autumn forest, but not nearly as much so as when these events connect straight to The Birth of a Nation, which the Klan reacts to with thunderous applause. Overall, the right perspectives are told from Ron Stallworth’s autobiography that will live on once he’s nothing more than a casket and bones.

Really though, while it means well, BlacKkKlansman paints an unintentionally immoral portrait of Spike Lee’s ideal America where any motivation by God is just a fuel for racism. Apparently, it’s all about humanism, but the Klan proves that we should not rely on ourselves, as its unnecessarily preachy final sequence proves: a series of modern day news footage showing the destruction caused by Black Lives Matter, not secretive about hatred towards our president. On top of that, this movie claims to be “based on some fo' real, fo' real sh*t" except it’s not, plenty of it is made up. So, with that put, this film’s message of relying on ourselves contradicts itself in a way. Likewise, you’d be better off living today for love, not rebellion, with the capacity to work of a donkey and the wise strength of an elephant.… Expand

5 of 11 users found this helpful56

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5

MondayQBAug 20, 2018

Important movie, and generally well directed and acted. The only sad thing is that this movie from the left, and Death of a Nation from the right, do nothing more than push groups even further into their safe place corners. I have lived aImportant movie, and generally well directed and acted. The only sad thing is that this movie from the left, and Death of a Nation from the right, do nothing more than push groups even further into their safe place corners. I have lived a long time in the US and not since the 1960’s have I seen such division in our society. I can only pray that we get a new ML King and JFK to emerge, but I suspect any such effort would be immediately torn down by social media attackers.… Expand

1 of 4 users found this helpful13

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6

jgzegerFeb 13, 2019

I'm not a fan of Spike Lee movies as he is too obsessed with racial issues. I would dismiss this film as just more of the same if it wasn't for the ending which makes the film relevant and important for the current times.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

AndrewBurgeOct 29, 2018

Spike Lee's newest "joint", based on some "fo’ real, fo’ real sh*t" is the type of film in which its creator constantly and repeatedly explains to you its ideas, in this case, making sure that we know without a shadow of a doubt that this isSpike Lee's newest "joint", based on some "fo’ real, fo’ real sh*t" is the type of film in which its creator constantly and repeatedly explains to you its ideas, in this case, making sure that we know without a shadow of a doubt that this is a film about the disgusting evils of white supremacists, specifically the Ku Klux Klan and the burdens of the Afro-American peoples. Yet its face-to-face presentation of these two communities, more specifically, a scene zig-zagging between a Klan ritual governed by the so-called Grand Wizard David Duke (Topher Grace) and a shocking and tragic speech carried in a BSU meeting, make it feel more like a one-on-one fight between two different groups.

Nevertheless, while Spike Lee's frustration with the idiocy and ridiculousness of racism might get to him, these things also bring up funny and awkward interactions between the likes of David Duke and Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), the colored police-man assigned as his security asset on his visit to Colorado Springs. These interactions are really interesting and its amazing to see Lee and his writers Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott adapt these funny situations with a natural flow. Specifically, the scene in which Ron suggests to take a picture with David Duke and while he accepts, his body language represents an obvious unease. It is the only time in the film when you see an Afro-American holding the power, even if is for a few seconds. But while funny, you can't help but choke a bit on your laugh when you realize the seriousness of this issue. This is a man feeling uneasy near a police officer assigned as his bodyguard simply because of his skin color.

I feel like Spike Lee is sick of dramatizing racism and complaining about its evils, but I do not like the way in which he wants to make you feel bad by causing a cheap laugh. I do like the way in which he uses D.W. Griffith's 'Birth of a Nation', a film which is difficult to discuss as a film-lover because it is a landmark film from a purely cinematographic perspective, but a total resentful and disgusting piece of work in any other context.

In the end, 'BlacKkKlansman' is a film having no insight on its own except excerpts from 'Birth of a Nation' and footage from the 2017 Unite the Right White Supremacist Rally. Also you cannot help but think something as simple as why didn't Flip (Adam Driver) talked on the phone with Duke after being selected as Ron Stallworth's "face"? Was it really just for that satisfying reveal at the end?… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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5

vidcylclopsAug 24, 2018

Everybody references "Do the Right Thing," which I liked, as the Spike Lee movie Blackkklansman should have aspired to. But Lee should have given Blackkklansman the nuanced touch he gave in his 2006 documentary "When the Levees Broke: AEverybody references "Do the Right Thing," which I liked, as the Spike Lee movie Blackkklansman should have aspired to. But Lee should have given Blackkklansman the nuanced touch he gave in his 2006 documentary "When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts" which made similar points as Blackkklansman but without the polemics, without the now-clichéd "Spike Lee Joint" film-making angles and effects and the awful "let's-hit-the-audience-over-the-head" endings that Lee has become infamous for. Adam Driver was outstanding, and like User reviewer @LamontRaymond I also enjoyed the cameo of Isiah Whitlock (Senator Clay Davis from "The Wire) in Blackkklasman. But overall, this movie is not the 80+ percent approval film that Metacritic rankings make it out to be.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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4

myemailnamelolaNov 22, 2021

this movie can be very triggering for black and white woman becuase if how the man act and make jokes

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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6

BenardenMar 9, 2019

Too long, too dark, too much time spent in rooms with people you'd rather not be in the company of,
A very good story but needed editing down / possibly adding more tension.
Maybe meant for a younger generation. At points I shut off theToo long, too dark, too much time spent in rooms with people you'd rather not be in the company of,
A very good story but needed editing down / possibly adding more tension.
Maybe meant for a younger generation.

At points I shut off the sound. I've been around people like that & it's really not something I want another dose of.
- Signed " Old enough to have participated in Civil Rights marches"
(& I miss Obama )… Expand