This is the best boxing film that's not really a boxing film since Rocky.

Rating: 9/10 (30 August 2000)

There is no role that Denzel Washington fits more perfectly in than the kind he played in racially charged atmosphere in The Hurricane. When he and that poor kid John Artis were pulled over and the officer said that they were looking for two negroes in a white car, no actor could have been better than Denzel when he said, "Any two will do?" What a perfect piece of casting, and Denzel Washington was startlingly convincing as the legendary Rubin Carter throughout the entire film. Every actor performed amazingly, even Liev Schrieber, who makes a smart turn after all of his obnoxious performances in the Scream trilogy. However, I have to say that I did get a little bit tired of watching Vicellous Reon Shannon mumble through his lines as the determined Lesra Martin, but besides his slightly botched dialogue he also contributed an important element of innocence and wonder to the film.
The Hurricane is a nearly flawlessly photographed film. Every scene has such perfect cinematography that you forget that you're watching a movie, you're actually THERE. This was especially important in the many prison scenes, particularly when Carter was in "the hole" for refusing to wear prison clothes, where his fall into temporary insanity was creatively and amazingly portrayed. I've seen people go insane in a huge number of movies (Hilary and Jackie (1998), Shine (1996), Little Voice (1999), and even Little Man Tate (1991)), but I've never seen the editing used to make a character seem that he was actually having a conversation with himself. Excellent piece of filmmaking right there. The time periods were portrayed perfectly, the costumes were designed to fit not only the time period but also each specific actor, and the dialogue was absolutely engrossing in every scene.

This was an absolutely incredible film. It moves the audience just as much as even the most emotionally intense films, and it is a great film to enjoy and learn from at the same time. Unfortunately, there were a few fairly important things that were left out that just should not have been. (spoilers) For example, we never find out what happened to Carter's wife. Sure, it's easy to assume that she divorced him, but after the scene when she visits him and he tells her that he's going to die in prison, we never see or hear from her or about her again. Also, nothing really came of the strong threats that Terry (John Hannah), Lisa (Deborah Unger), Sam (Liev Schrieber), and Lesra (Vicellous Shannon) received from Detective Vincent Pesca (Dan Hedaya) on the street corner that day except for one time when their brakes were evidently disabled. Sure, that's a pretty vicious thing to do, but when he approached the four of them he seemed pretty determined to stop their investigation at all costs. The last thing that I think should be noted (as well as the most important), is that at the end of the film, nothing ever came of the heinous crimes that were committed against Rubin Carter. None of the people who falsely imprisoned him (especially Det. Pesca, who had falsely imprisoned Carter for most of his life) were ever reprimanded for their negligence to uphold the law. At the same time, however, this can be seen as a very respectable element of the film, because it suggests that the movie is about the tremendous strength of the human spirit in the face of hopeless circumstances, and that it is NOT about revenge. This is the kind of thing that you get from films that are somehow able to avoid the poisonous influences of Hollywood, and they are often not easily accepted because people don't look at the actual meaning of things like this, they just want a perfectly happy ending. The Hurricane is an example of a film in which you have to look at what the ending MEANS, not just the basic way that it happened. This same is true for other great films like Boys Don't Cry (1999) and Life Is Beautiful (1997). The emphasis is not on happy endings, but instead on being as accurate as possible in the depiction of reality, which does not work at all like a movie does. This type of thing is especially important in true stories, such as The Hurricane.
The Hurricane is among the most powerful films released in years. I think that it is just as emotionally intense as films like Schindler's List and American History X and, like both of the above mentioned films, it not only provides wonderful entertainment, but it also tackles one of the most important messages that can possibly be delivered to our society today - the destructive power of racism. From the opening scenes of the movie, you just love Rubin Carter, and the way that his life is demolished because of racism and prejudice is an extremely powerful thing to watch. Every scene is saturated with emotion and intelligence and cinematic skill, and the end result is magical.