Good historical film with strong cast

Rating: 7/10 (16 September 2017)

Denzel anchors this biopic about the life of activist Malcolm X. You learn about his young beginnings, youthful upbringing, how he became transformed into the Islamic leader, then his eventual disillusionment and further transformation.
This story was a fascinating view with strong acting by Denzel. He seems to thrive in characters where he can go a little over the top though, and at times, that can get a bit tiring, much like in the more recent Fences, where his non-stop action is something you cannot keep up with. Malcolm X was a bit like that, but you saw that Malcolm had a deliberateness and an immediacy to his actions that pushed action.
The setting was inner city with excellent costumes. His friend shorty and his other crew grew up to support and eventually adore Malcolm, but he also gained enemies. As his views started to venture from the strict Islam line, he created enemies.
The film got a bit slow at times, but Angela Basset as his girl helped bring a nice evenness to the plot by solidly standing by her man thru thick and thin.
This movie was a fascinating view of how a person can change colors, while always still doing the right thing according to their convictions. Such morals as Islam play a big role in our world today. Watching Malcolm X will help you understand how there can be good parts to it, but also abuses of it that are not good.
I hope you enjoy Malcolm X.