BlacKkKlansman (2018)

I consider BlacKkKlansman an especially important message for today's political climate, where radical beliefs have began to try to bend social norms in supoort of racial discrimination. As a film, the acting is strong throughout (namely Washington, Driver, Harriet), along with the cinematography and music. My major qualms came with the film's choppy pacing and character development, rushing in certain points and dragging to a halt in others.

What blows me away the most about BlacKkKlansman was its ability to profitably blend such a serious and calamitous subject with an appropriate amount of comedy. Only a long-in-the-business, cinematic master like Spike Lee could pull off such a trick, and he does it without complication. It's also refreshing to see that Spike Lee avoids stereotypes even when depicting some of the more unpleasant and nefarious characters/groups, allowing the film to feel less biased and more grounded in reality with various angles interweaving. BlacKkKlansman contains one of the most hard-hitting, politically dynamic screenplays (right next to Blindspotting) of the year that had me infatuated with revelation. It certainly is one of Spike Lee's best joints in years, maybe even decades. (Verdict: A-)

First off I'll say that seeing Jordan Peele's name on the credits and the trailer set my standards really high. And for the first half or so the film genuinely did seem interesting. There's no real conflicting values going on. As soon as Ron's love interest starts to question him, he just gives his view and they walk off. And then after the explosion, they're happy again. What. At the initial rally with the black activist it seemed like a genuine internal moral conflict would start to brew, with the way the scene was paced and the great acting from Corey Hawkins. But nope, nothing was jeopardized; nothing happened. Every single time something seems to go wrong everyone just walks it off. The lack of character development was just plain annoying.The pacing was just awful as well. When the car with the klansmen was driving to the house near the end, there was no change in music, or even camera angles. They give you this enormous build-up with the whole meeting with David Duke and the seemingly botched plan, but it only ends up with an explosion that solves the whole problem. No sense of suspense or intensity at all, even though there was a bloody bomb involved. The scene was saved when the police mistook Ron for a rapist, but again, the scene was too slow and there was no atmosphere. What I thought was the climax with the old man's story once again didn't end with anything. I feel like this film was just taking the piss out of my expectations and robbing me of any enjoyment.And yeah, I did expect a stylish, fast-paced Tarantino-esque flick. But that's not even the issue. Everything is SO in-your-face, there's no interpretation left to the viewer, no hidden message or symbolism. The dialogue just straight up tells the audience what's going on. No sense of mystery, suspense or viewer involvement.And then the last part with the current footage was just milking it. Maybe it's because I don't live in the US. but it was just such an awkward watch, especially the flag bit. I'm surprised that was really the only violent part of the film.I think more people are too concerned with the message (which is of course legitimate and current), that they forget about actually being entertained. Before you accuse me of being racist, I myself am coloured and I ENJOY watching these types of films. This was just poor. There are much better movies out there.

This movie is entertaining and smart, well acted and shot, at times funny and at times very serious. What makes it all great though is that it finds that perfect balance between funny and serious and manages to walk down it without falling to either side! John David Washington and Adam Driver are great in it, as is Topher Grace and really the cast overall. If it sounds even a little interesting to you, I urge you to check it out.