Review: stop-and-start pacing 
Sentiment: negative

Review: what 's hard to understand is why anybody picked it up . 
Sentiment: negative

Review: will no doubt rally to its cause , trotting out threadbare standbys like ` masterpiece ' and ` triumph ' and all that malarkey , but rarely does an established filmmaker so ardently waste viewers ' time with a gobbler like this . 
Sentiment: negative

Review: elevates the material above pat inspirational status and gives it a sturdiness and solidity that we 've long associated with washington the actor . 
Sentiment: positive


Review: sit through -- despite some first-rate performances