Yes, it's worth seeing. But a masterpiece?

Rating: 7/10 (17 May 2003)

There are many reasons to watch Amistad. It's visually perfect and tackles interesting historical questions. But the film is also seriously flawed. Like too many other films which are about the Black Experience in America, the film stars almost exclusively white actors in the key roles. Take another look at how you might describe the cast of the film: "Amistad is a film about black history, starring Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins, Nigel Hawthorne, Pete Postlethwaite, Stellan Starsgard, oh, and Morgan Freeman and Djimon Hounsou and a bunch of other slaves whose names are not important."
As far as the plot goes, the flashback scene depicting the wretched nature of slave ships is the most compelling in the film, if not one of the most compelling scenes in film history. Unfortunately, this scene is in the dead center of the film. You first have to watch preparation for trial, which is nowhere near as interesting as what follows. There should have been much more from the Africans' point of view, right from the beginning. Also, having one token slave character (Hounsou) almost trivializes the whole point.
Of the acting, Hopkins is likeable but very silly as former president J.Q. Adams, approaching senility (rapidly). McConaughey is just unlikeable. The role (the token role in which someone has to learn and become a changed man) is a bit beyond him. Hounsou is likeable, but his character is all wrong. Being the only "Important Slave," he has to carry any and all issues that the slaves confront in the first and final thirds of the film. The would-be cathartic scene in which he repeatedly shouts "Gives us free!" [sic] in pidgin English is manipulative and almost insulting (or funny). But he did the best with what he had to work with.
It should not be taken from this review that Spielberg intentionally made a "racist" film. There are problems that go beyond him -- most notably in the script. It doesn't need to be said that he is a masterful director. But, as such, he should have caught some oversights that prevent the film from being as powerful and intelligent as it could have been. In essence, this is not the equal of "Schindler's List" or even "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Rather, it's an example of a good film by a brilliant director... that could have been so much more.