Preachy but Powerful

Rating: 7/10 (9 January 2015)

-Selma is based on Martin Luther King Jr. and his peaceful movement towards voting rights for African Americans in the south, which began in the heat of tension in Selma, Alabama.
-Selma has its good elements and some 'eh' elements, but it could have been much worse of a film. In fact it was a pretty good film.
-The original screenplay based on true events was presented well and the avoidance of familiar events kept it refreshing.
-The pace was pretty darn slow. It had a few moments, one of which caught me off guard the most of any scene in 2014, but it is not a fast film at all.
-The acting is really good. It stars David Oyelowo, Tim Roth, Tom Wilkinson, and more. All of which did an excellent job willing the shoes of the real-life characters they play. David Oyelowo will probably get an Oscar nomination.
-The characters are well written and portrayed, but alittle preachy. In fact one of the things I noticed is that the film is much more preachy than like 12 Years A Slave.
-The music is fitting, but I never liked the style used. Very gospely. It is a true story, so I can't judge it too hard, but it is still hard to enjoy at times. It is still a pretty powerful film! -The costume design is something to give a shout-out to, because it was incredibly authentic.
-Selma holds a PG-13 rating and is heavy on language for a PG-13 film.
-Selma is a powerful film that tells a true story in an original fashion, but it is slow and preachy. However, its positive elements outweigh the negative by far, which means that if you are looking for a thinking-man's period piece about race, Selma is worth seeing in theaters! I would give Selma a strong 7.5.