Judas and the Black Messiah: Neon NZ Film Review
Judas and the Black Messiah: Neon NZ Film Review Shaka King's provocative Judas and the Black Messiah may lack some of the punch of a righteous discourse, but it doesn't shy away from the power thanks to a strong, stirring and awards-worthy performance from Daniel Kaluuya. And in many ways, it's not a new story - a man's arrested by the FBI (as personified by Plemons' GMan) for a crime, and then used as a pawn to bring down someone who's been a thorn in the FBI's side. (In fact, many will see elements of Spike Lee's BlacKKKlansman in parts here.) But what Judas and the Black Messiah has is a timeliness, and an indignation and energy that compels it through some of its narrative shortcomings. Daniel Kaluuya is Fred Hampton, the local leader of the Illinois Black Panthers in the late 1960s, a man who is on the FBI radar for his charismatic approach to race issues, and who has the power to unite differing factions to form a coalition against the government....