Great until John Quincy Adams goes to court

Rating: 7/10 (9 February 2014)

It's 1839, and the slaves imprisoned on the Amistad revolt against its crew. The slaves take over, but the two remaining crew tricked the Africans and sail the ship to America. There the Africans are imprisoned with various interests coming to fight over the slaves in court.
The slaves are led by Cinque (Djimon Hounsou). Djimon does a powerful job. At first, the abolitionist led by Tappan (Stellan Skarsgård) are more interested in martyrdom than the slaves' freedom. A small property lawyer Roger Sherman Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey) takes over the case. It's McConaughey's performance that provide the perfect partnership to Hounsou. The best emotional scene is when the slave tries to interpret the story of Jesus from illustrations in the bible.
Eventually the case goes to the Supreme Court where former President John Quincy Adams (Anthony Hopkins) takes over the defense. That's where the movie struggles. Adams is reluctant at first, long winded, and superior. He does not form a compelling character. He talks like a politician. The story climax earlier then sidelines both McConaughey and Hounsou in favor of Hopkins.