Malcolm X (1992)

Director: Spike Lee

 It's really a compliment to the film Spike Lee made that after watching the movie I had nothing to say about the film itself, and everything to say about Malcolm X. The autobiography that this film is based on is easily one of the best books I have read in my life, and just by virtue of adapting for the screen and actually keeping the essence of the book intact makes this film one of the finest and most flawless biopics of all time. Almost all biopics try to find one thing that defined the life of their subject, but this is impossible to do with Malcolm X because he is a man defined by his progression in life. His views evolved all throughout his life, and were continuing to do so even until he was assassinated.

Lee knows this, and follows him from all throughout his life, giving equal weight to each portion, from the beginning when he was Malcolm Little, to his criminal days when he was Detroit Red, to when he was with the NOI as Minister Malcolm X, till the end when he was El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz. A filmmaker could easily make a movie about Malcolm X and give a completely inaccurate depiction of the man by just focusing on a certain portion of his life, but Lee gives us the whole picture, and this way we get an honest, truthful, and powerful progression. It is a long movie, running about three and a half hours, but I never thought it was boring and never found any scene unnecessary. Because of Denzel Washington's career-making performance as the man himself, and Lee's real knowledge and respect for the man, we surprisingly have a completely honest film about Malcolm X, one that will hopefully show the world the mans true impact on our world.

Grade: A