A great story reduced to a series of cinematic snapshots

Rating: 2/10 (7 April 2000)

The film charts Malcolm X's metamorphosis from Harlem hustler to one of the two most important African- American leaders of his time, but , in emotional terms, it doesn't dig very deep. One understands how Malcolm X changes but not why he changes. The scenes--some of which are extraordinary --are self-contained, they don't link up emotionally with one another. The result is a cinematic slide show ("first this happened, then this... then this"). And the coda (much like those in Schindler's List and Saving Private Ryan) is unnecessary and embarrassing.