Review of BlacKkKlansman (2018) by Stjude_Bruh — 05 Sep 2018

I never wish to address politics, but I feel like Hollywood has made more socially-conscious movies ever since President Trump was inaugurated in office. It may be a coincidence, but I don’t think so. In 2018 alone, there have been three major movies that have dealt with racial inequality. We first had Sorry To Bother You, which was tremendously overhyped and overall a bad movie. Then we had Blindspotting, which was an excellent and realistic look at the injustice that people of color often face. Now, we have Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, which has been showered with praise. While not perfect, it certainly has plenty of quality moments that overshadow it’s lack of a plot objective. Let us begin.

The story of the film focuses on Ron Stallworth (a most entertaining John David Washington), a rookie African-American cop on Colorado Springs who decides to open an investigation on the KKK. Stallworth communicates with them through the phone using his “white-voice”, and fellow cop Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver, who did great) meets with them face-to-face. What makes the movie so engaging is the dynamic between the two cops and the concept of acting as someone else. The phone conversations between Stallworth and the KKK alone provided many great moments. As if that weren’t entertaining enough, the scenes at the meetings were well-executed and engaging, if not very sad. All of the major-billed actors, with the exception of Stallworth’s girlfriend Patrice (played by Spider Man’s girl in Homecoming), performed very well, especially John David Washington and Corey Hawkins (Kwame Ture was his character). During the scene with Ture, it was an empowering moment for the film to highlight the faces of the crowd and the true statement that “Black is Beautiful”. However, there were a few aspects that prevented this film from being amazing. Allow me to explain.

I’ve stated the importance of a clear plot before, and that is where BlacKkKlansman falters most. The movie just does not have a clear plot; there isn’t a purpose to the investigation except to highlight that the KKK is racist. They are absolutely corrupt in the mind, but what they do technically isn’t illegal. Throughout the course of the investigation, the Stallworth Brothers (as Ron says) try to uncover a plan for an attack; they talk about doing things, but they never create or carry out any plans. This hurts the film because the investigations never lead anywhere. They just show what KKK members do during their meetups, which is basically drinking beer, chatting about life, and being racist. Basically, they are frat and f**k boys. The lack of an objective hurts the film the most, along with the poorly executed remembrance of the Charlottesville protests.

After seeing the trailers, I had been excited and looked forward to seeing BlacKkKlansman and even more so after seeing all the rave reviews. Once again, reading reviews prior to seeing a movie set high expectations that weren’t quite met. I was highly entertained and found this film to be one of the funniest films of the year, but this is largely credited to the character, chemistry, and two-in-one dynamic between Ron Stallworth and Flip Zimmerman. They, however, did not have a specific objective with the investigation, which is what the movie focuses on. Overall, I would say that this film is worth your $12 to see it in theaters. After watching John David Washington in Ballers and this film, he is definitely a star in the making. Maybe one day he’ll reach the level of his dad Denzel; he was easily the best part of the movie.

Rating wise, I would say that this movie deserves an 8 out of 10. If only all movies so close to being amazing just had a definitive plot.