Will Smith Delivers an Oscar Worthy Performance

Rating: 8/10 (22 December 2015)

I have to be honest. I haven't been a huge fan of Will Smith the actor. He always seems to be doing not much more than playing himself in his roles. Even in The Pursuit of Happiness it was hard for me to forget that the character I was watching was Will Smith instead of who it was suppose to be. This works well for him when he's doing comedy or action such as Men in Black or Bad Boys, but not so much when he's taking on something dramatic that requires a transformation into an actual role. (To be fair, I can't seem to remember ever watching Ali and I suppose I should do that.)
Finally, though, after 25 years of trying, he's done it for me with Concussion. He truly captures the role of a Nigerian brain specialists and I almost immediately forget that he's Will Smith and I relate instead to the character he's playing. And he pulls it off with such grace that I do believe he deserves at least his third nomination for best actor if not the award itself.
As for the film, I liked it a lot. The first half plays like a very taught thriller and had me on the edge of my seat. The second half gets a bit too melodramatic for my taste but not so much that I started squirming (well, maybe just a little). I think if the second half was given a bit more editing, speeding it up, this could have been a ten star film but eight stars, which is what I give it, isn't anything to shake a stick at either.
So there you have it--my take on Concussion.