Does a good job with handling its subject.

Rating: 8/10 (15 May 2012)

Actually I can be very short about this movie; it's one that serves its purpose and serves it well. It's a biopic that does nothing else but telling you all of the right required information you need to know about Malcolm X.
So it's a biopic and nothing more and nothing less really. You could say that this is enough, since it simply serves its purpose but I prefer a biopic with a clear story to it, that features a beginning, middle and end that are all connect and not a movie that chronicles the life of a person, through fragments. Or maybe at least something that makes the movie 'spectacular' and memorable to watch. Nothing about this movie stands out really. It remains on the safe side of things and I never felt really involved with the movie or any of its characters. It was like I was watching a moving history book. And again, there is nothing wrong with this but not the type of approach for a biopic that I prefer seeing.
But really, the movie does a good job at telling you the life story of Malcolm X. When you are too lazy or incapable of reading a book and documentaries perhaps aren't your thing but you would still like to learn about Malcolm X; this is a good way to do it! Personally I knew very little about him, which I realized all the more after finishing watching the movie. I'm glad I watched it and feel more enriched now. And even while that the movie is almost 4 hours long I'm sure that the movie left a lot of things out, deliberately or not, I feel like it did a more than great job at covering all of the fundamental things you need to know about its subject.
The one foremost thing I now especially respect Malcolm X for was that he made black people proud of their color and race, which also taught them to stand up for themselves and show them that they are worthy of all things that are great.
It's definitely a well told movie. After all, it's over 3 hours long, yet it never starts to feel overlong or tiresome. It probably is because the movie is always moving. It doesn't linger too long on just one particular period of Malcom X's life and is being set at lots of different locations. It never becomes a movie that drags or slows down too much in any way, which is a real accomplishment for a movie this long. Spike Lee deserves lots of credits for that!
The movie gets almost entirely carried by Denzel Washington, who earned a well deserved Oscar nomination for his leading role as Malcolm X. Even though he doesn't look very much like the real Malcolm X, he still convincingly becomes him through his acting and the love and passion he puts into his role. No doubt that a lot of the people involved shared a love and passion for its subject, which shows in the movie. You might question its objectivity because of that at times but it still makes this a good and more than maintaining movie to watch.
The movie also does a great job at capturing all of its different time periods, which the movie is taking place in. The movie also still manages to maintain one style throughout, which lets the movie feel like one big whole.
Well, I thought that I could be short about this movie but it seems like I failed at that. I could summarize it by saying that it's simply a really good biopic!
8/10
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