Directed by Spike Lee
Screenplay by Charlie Wachtel & David Rabinowitz and Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee
Based on the book, "Black Klansman" by Ron Stallworth
Stars: John David Washington, Adam Driver, Laura Harrier, Robert John Burke, Frederick Weller, Michael Buscemi, Ryan Eggold, Jasper Pääkkönen, Paul Walter Hauser, Topher Grace, and Alec Baldwin
Spike Lee's movies make you think about the state of the black experience. Most of his movies are thought provoking. This movie could have been great, but it dragged along.
Ron Stallworth (Washington) is a new hire at the Colorado Springs Police Department. He quickly goes undercover to infiltrate a local chapter of the KKK by talking to the members on the phone and his fellow officer, Flip Zimmerman (Driver) pretends to be Ron at the meetings.
I understood what Lee was coming from with incorporating the Black Power movement with the KKK meetings going at the same time. Cool. The problem with the movie is that it was focusing five different things at once. The story line with Ron, the one with Flip as Ron, the klan members being suspicious, the "romance" between Ron and Patrice (Harrier) and David Duke (Grace). I wish the transitions were smoother.
The pacing of the movie the biggest problem. The stakeout scenes were taking forever and a day. Okay. We get it. Move on. It needed some trimming. What was the scene with Alec Baldwin in the beginning? Why did the incident in Charlottesville needed to be in here? If the movie was two hours, I would have been great.
People were upset that JDW didn't get a Best Actor nomination for this movie. I thought he was fine. Not great like Adam Driver. Driver was solid in his role. Zimmerman had more to do than Stallworth.
Rating: 7/10
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