Movies and TV

[Deleted member 191]

Note: I have tried to keep this as general and spoiler free as possible. But stop now if you want to watch first to stay on the safe side.

Tagged as both Sci-Fi and Comedy, this movie turned out to be so much more than either of the parameters those two labels can bring. First thing I thought when I saw this movie was Fallout 4. It reminds me of Bethesda's ill-executed story very much. Where director, Juel Taylor succeeds is how the movie fleshes out the characters and the plot much better than the game's paltry attempt

I found the film to be a brilliant cinematic display from Taylor, of what many self-aware and community-focused black folks feel, but often struggle to articulate; and that is, far too many of us are complacent and MORE than willing to simply "PLAY THE PART" within the system, instead of waking up and taking a stand against our enemies. I feel like the moral of the movie is: "If we knew better, we'd do better. And when we know better, we show better."

Anyway, on to the review:

The subliminal messages in this movie are everywhere, from the underground facilities where the cloning and the brain washing takes place, to the location of the service elevators leading to the facilities is, IMO, brilliance: A Church, A Trap House, A Strip Club, A Corner Store. It gave me a "They're doing this under our noses and right in our faces" kind of vibe. Yet we still patron these places, we still put stock in their value. We're still out here "playing our part" to keep everything fucked up; intentionally or unintentionally.

Then, there's the music they play with the hidden messages, influencing how we feel about and treat ourselves and each other, to the processed food and the ingredients they use, to the hair products we use and all the manufactured shit we consume, yet never take stock in how it's actually affecting us. There is a scene where they are experimenting different songs and then watching how it effects the behavior of the two people they're analyzing... Like rats in a cage. There's another scene where they're eating at this local chicken joint and one of the main characters suddenly realizes they have the chicken laced with something that makes everyone just start laughing uncontrollably and then the enemies monitor how it affects us, how fast and continuously run reports on it. Then there's a scene where they end up in Church because they discover that's where one of the elevators to the facility is, and they see the congregation just acting a WHOLE entire fool. While they drink the communion juice that they don't realize is laced with the same ingredients from the chicken also.

I don't want to say too much for those who want to watch the movie spoiler free. But.......

Then there's the "A-ha" moment in the movie. After discovering what's happening and how they've helped to contribute to it, 2 of the 3 main characters, Fontaine (John Boyega) and Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), experience what appears to be regret, depression, and shame. But then the 3rd member of their little unlikely crew, Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris) gets caught by "them" and they have to come together along with the entire community to put aside their petty differences and take the fight to the enemy. This part of the movie was amazing because it showcased ALL we can accomplish if we stop the petty, divisive bullshit and come together for a common cause. Taking the fight TO our common enemy instead of making ourselves the enemy of each other.

I thought the plot twist moment toward the end was pretty good too. As I said in the beginning, this film reminded me of Fallout 4 from the start, so for me, it wasn't really unexpected per se. But I still thought it was good. I won't get into it because it would be a colossal spoiler, but it was a pretty damn good plot twist considering how the movie frames up who the "enemy" might be.

The casting was amazing. John Boyega, Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris shine as a trio. Initially depicting the usual tropes movies associate with Black people: The drug dealer, the pimp and the hoe, and then masterfully spinning them into this unlikely "Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys"-esque team, who haphazardly find themselves in the middle of this huge conspiracy. Their acting was fantastic.

Overall, this movie was definitely worth the just short of two hours, time spent. Because I wasn't surprised by the plot twist it didn't have the WOW factor for me but, if I had a say, I would give this flick, 5 out of 6Zeros.