a travesty

Rating: 3/10 (3 December 2000)

By focusing on, and even celebrating, the rise of Malcolm X and his legacy of heightened militancy in the Black Muslim movement of Elijah Muhammed, Spike Lee has totally butchered the point of X's autobiography, which ends with him embracing all of mankind and coming to grips with the anger(totally justified!)and resentment that he held for the whites he dealt with in his life. This should have been a story of inclusiveness, concluding with a certain joy instead of this childish "I am Malcolm X" black hero c***. Malcolm is a hero for everyone, and should be praised by everyone for his angelic ability to accept and forgive the world that so often wronged him. Why do you think Elijah Muhammed had him killed? Because he didn't feed on hate anymore, and wanted others to feel the same way. That would have destroyed the Black Muslim message, the most blameful of heresies. This is irresponsible, manipulative, self-indulgent film-making on a scale equal to "Birth of a Nation" as it rewrites history in an all too convincing manner. Shameful.