Judas and the Black Messiah Offers a Surface Look at an Iconic Political Leader Directed by Shaka King
Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons, Martin Sheen
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The title of
Judas and the Black Messiah sets up a biblical dynamic that the film doesn t quite do justice to. Though a good primer for those unfamiliar with Black Panther Party activist Fred Hampton and his work,
Judas and the Black Messiah is ultimately a dizzying film: it spends too much time on secondary characters and events, and not enough on the Messiah, ultimately leaving you wishing it had stuck to a singular point of view.