Great Bipoic

Rating: 9/10 (12 February 2002)

"The Hurricane"
Rated R for language and some violent content
Starring Denzel Washington, Vicellous Reon Shannon, and John Hannah
Plot: A boxer (Washington), is sent to prison for life for a murder he did not commit. A group of Canadians, led by a fierce, young Brooklynite (Shannon), try their hardest to get him out of jail.
As you probably know, "The Hurricane" is based on the story of boxer Ruben "Hurricane" Carter, who was jailed in the 1960s for a murder that he did not commit. Though the film doesn't have all the facts straight, as they were presented in the biography of Carter by James S. Hirsch, but some of them are right. He is from New Jersey, and he was jailed with a young man named John Artis (Garland Whitt).
In the film, Vicellous Reon Shannon plays Lezra Martin, a young Brooklynite living with some Canadians in Toronto. Martin stumbles upon a "The 16th Round", an actual autobiography written by Carter. Intrigued by Carter's story, Martin believes in his innocence and starts exchanging letters with Carter, who is at this point in a Trenton prison. They soon meet and Martin convinces his caretakers, a few educated Canadians, to get a lawyer to fight for Carter's freedom.
Shannon has a breakout performance, as does Denzel Washington as Ruben Carter. I believe Washington is definately one of the best actors in the world right now, putting compelling performances into everyone of his flicks. Washington brings presence to this drama, and if Carter, a hotshot boxer who never listens to the rules, were played by someone else, it probably wouldn't be as good as Washington's performance. Washington's performance, as well as the breakout one by Shannon, is indeed worth seeing the film for, even though it is a brilliant film anyway. Kudos on this great biopic.
My Rating: 8 out of 10 or B+