Chi-Raq (2015)

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/chi-raq-2015

Downloaded it last night on FindingNamo's recommendation. RogerEbert.com has already provided a detailed review at the link above so I'll try to keep mine pithy. I found it entertaining and one of the better movies from the Spike Lee canon.

The high's were the performances of veteran actors Angela Bassett, John Cusack, Roger Guenver Smith, Steve Harris and Samuel L. Jackson. Cusack's performance as Father Mike Corridan would have been even more rousing if the actor had a booming voice. Several millennials at work were put off by the movie & the character's preachiness but it's a Spike Lee movie set in Chicago's south side, nuff said. There was a scene with Angela Bassett and Roger Guenver Smith's characters that could have provided the story arc for an entirely different and arguably better movie. In a better movie, that scene alone screamed Oscar nomination for Bassett. She sold the hell out of it. Spike Lee has never been given credit for exploring the complex topics of color-ism and class warfare among African Americans on film. Chi-Raq would have been a better movie had Lee and writer Kevin Willmott tapped further into that vein but I digress.

Mid-range marks go to the leads Teyonah Parrish as Lysistrata and Nick Cannon as Chi-Raq/Demetrius. She would have been better served by nuance in a few spots. At times she read on screen as a cheap knockoff of the 70's-era Pam Grier, Teresa Graves, and Tamara Dobson which made the movie feel dated. Regarding Cannon, I wish his character had been written somewhat more menacing. It was a stretch to see nearly milquetoast ex-Mr Mariah Carey as a thug. The physicality & urban idiom were there, but Nick needed to bring it as the kids say these days.

Onto the low's...Spike didn't get the best performance out of Jennifer Hudson as Irene. As a screen actor, JHud still speaks with every part of her body except her eyes. Wesley Snipes obviously needed a paycheck badly. And the contrived Confederate cannon humor at the armory was the movie's low point.

One final note. The leads don't have the classic Hollywood big head/small body physique which imo only works well in close-ups on screen and posters.

Updated On: 2/13/16 at 12:04 PM

"And Roger Ebert's dead. He didn't review it."

I was aware of that and in the process of editing when you posted. But, thanks for pointing that out.

"I thought it was kind of a mess, Lee at his most "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks," though it yielded some interesting things."

He's always been hit or miss with me. The more interesting parts of the movie are what stand out to me.

"That scene with Angela Bassett was taken straight out of Grand Canyon, though."

Noted. I don't recall viewing Grand Canyon before. I'll have to hit up Netflix. Parts of Chi-Raq also harked back to Lee's earlier Do The Right Thing which I still regard as one of his better movies. Chi-Raq was consistent with the Spike Lee brand. I found it highly entertaining albeit flawed.

Thanks for weighing in, hork.

Updated On: 2/13/16 at 12:38 PM