User reviews

Amazing true story of a small team of police infiltrating a local klan chapter to try to stop looming violence.

Driver is first class as the white undercover presence, with Washington himself oozing presence throughout as the black officer who conceives the plan, runs the show and in a number of hilarious high points gains the respect and trust of the big Klan chief over the phone.

Whilst there is arguably room for a little bit of trimming, this remains highly engaging throughout with a great script and fine performances. The amazing trick here is how Lee seems to very cleverly shift from laugh out loud comedy to troubling sometimes fairly intense scene and back without missing a beat.

A terrific Spike Lee film with humor and gut wrenching truths. My first reaction was that the villains were too one dimensional, caricaturesque. It was impossible to stay with them for more than a few seconds - even that outrageous scene of connubial bliss where she expresses her willingness, in the most romantic terms, to kill Blacks. I recoiled in horror and kind of laughing nervously - what is this, a satire? And then, I realized - the real life villanis are one dimensional, they are caricaturesque, they are their own satire. John David Washinton is great and sounds just like his father. Adam Driver brings a presence that is nothing short of compelling, The final real life images are devastating, I highly recommend it.

Spike Lee has created an almost unimaginably uneven career in films, but it has never been in doubt, that he is one of the most talented American filmmakers of his generation. And should you have forgotten that, now you can remind yourself by watching the amazing "BlacKkKlansman", which won the Grand Prix at Cannes in May.

"BlacKkKlansman" tells the true story of a rookie African American police officer who in the 70's infiltrated in the KKK, but that's certainly not what the movie is about. Lee tackles head-on the contemporary hot topics of racism, the police killing black Americans, and white supremacy to create an overwhelming pamphlet about the American identity - which has been hurled into a state of great confusion after the last presidential election.

Movies don't come much more political as this one. In a way, "BlacKkKlansman" is a companion piece to "The Post" - a movie that similarly discussed the current political climate in a 70's setting - but with loads more of blackness, humour, anger and attitude. It's a better movie, too.

Though not perfect. Form-wise, "BlacKkKlansman" is sometimes paced oddly and feels needlessly long: not overlong, exactly, because you're not going to be bored for a minute. Visually it could have used a little more of the delicious textures typical of those 70's blacksploitations it makes references to.

But Lee is such a virile storyteller, that you can't help but get sucked in it all. And he has SO much to say. "BlacKkKlansman" is at its savage best when putting in perspective the official holier-than-thou image of the white Americans: Harry Belafonte cameos as an eye-witness of the beastly lynching of Jesse Washington in 1916.

Actors in "BlacKkKlansman" are great. John David Washington excels in the lead role. Adam Driver signs what is arguably his best role to date. Ryan Eggold is terrific as the local boss of the KKK, and the Finnish Jasper Pääkkönen impresses as his right hand man. The biggest surprise of all is Topher Grace, who is near-ingenious as David Duke, a well-mannered bag of sleaze in a three-piece.

"BlacKkKlansman" is an incredibly rich and stirring piece of contemporary cinema with enough stuff to fuel a conversation for hours. Or days. You can get a lot less with a price of a movie ticket these days.

Based on a true story, the first black detective at the Colorado Springs Police Department infiltrates the Ku Klux Klan with the help of a white undercover officer.

Not content with the battles portrayed on the screen between black civil rights groups and the Klan, Spike Lee has squared up against Donald Trump and the political state of America today. Throughout the film, there are not-so-subtle nods to the US President's rhetoric and how it echoes the KKK's leader David Duke: at one point he says he wants 'to make America achieve its greatness again' and chants 'America first!' during a speech.

The messages the film is trying to get across are not subtle, but it doesn't have to be when the messages have never been irrelevant. At one point, the true and horrific story of the public torture and execution of 17-year-old Jessie Washington in 1916 is told. This story is unfolding as the camera cuts back and forth to the Klan's initiation meeting which makes for a powerful scene of intense juxtaposition (Lee explained in the post-film Q&A that, ironically, this cross cutting technique was invented by the director of Birth of a Nation, an intensely racist pro-KKK 1915 film).

The final minutes are fearful to watch as Lee brings us to the present time and the last few shots (which I won't spoil here) left me with a genuine tear in my eye and an uneasy feeling in one of the most basic, primitive part of my being - fear for the minds of my fellow man and the state of the world I'm meant to be leaving to my children.

Best Quote: "America would never elect someone like David Duke as President." - "Coming from a black man, that's pretty naïve."

BlacKkKlansman, is great movie, that manages to be thought provoking and funny at the same time. The cinematography is excellent. The only issue I had with this movie was the pacing, but nothing major. Oh, forgot to mention, great ending as well!

There's much good about this movie, starting with Ron Stallworth's incredible deception of the Klu Klux Klan. Racism in all its ugliness is powerfully shown. There's a lot of humor at the expense of some really dumb people. Unfortunately, there's a lot wrong with the movie too. Most of this is because the director embellished the true story. I'm not a big fan of directors tinkering with what really happened in order to add their own touch, and then still claim "based on a true story". The result of the tinkering is a very uneven movie, particularly in the apparently "easy" parts of infiltrating the KKK and the "hard" parts where things go wrong. The "easy" parts are, remarkably, mostly the true story. Apparently this wasn't dramatic enough, so a lot of fictional "hard" parts were added to build tension including whole characters and situations. That's bad enough, but the added parts often made no sense, such as having no real origin (like one character's intense suspicions) and no resolution to the dilemma presented - they just seem to go away, are forgotten or have no effect on the inevitable story arc. Many seem to have been thrown in only to make already duped people look even more ridiculous. The characters themselves are, with a few exceptions, just caricatures. It's not hard to figure out what's next since they do exactly what you expect. Eventually the movie just got boring since it all moved to an inevitable and very easy to see end. Ultimately, the movie is maybe an hour of an amazing true and humorous story marred by over an hour of superfluous and poorly executed fiction.

Disturbing and infuriating.

Wonderfully acted by John David Washington, Adam Driver and Topher Grace.

It gets your blood boiling and makes you wanna do something.

It's also full of great comedic moments and one hell of an ending

Directed by Spike Lee, this is a powerful film based loosely on a true story that took place in Colorado Springs in the 1970s. An undercover black police officer, played by J. D. Washington (and also, sort of, by Adam Driver, who plays a Jewish officer) infiltrates the K K K, which had (has?) a robust presence in Colorado Springs (which also happens to be a city with a large number of HQs of right-wing and evangelical organizations). Topher Grace plays David Duke, once the Grand Wizard of the K K K, who has positioned himself as an Executive Director and looks forward to the time when, through political action, his group can get one of their kind in the White House.

The film, which is fairly traditionally shot, is clearly presented to foreshadow the increase of K K K and white supremacist activity taking place today. In fact, news footage of Donald Trump and the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally of 2017 is shown in the film, and the message is clear. At times obvious and even almost corny, The BlacKkKlansman is an important and sadly timely film.

Hi, I'm french and I'm 16. We saw the movie in the cinema with my english class and our english teacher asked to us to write a revue of this movie, and after put in on this website. Blackkklansman is a movie birected by Spike Lee in 2018. This film is based on the true story of Ron Stallworth, a black police officer who wanted to infiltrate the KKK. Inspired by the book, Spike Lee made a film. In the movie we have funny moments and romance too; Ron falls in love with Patrice, a beautiful blanck woman who fights racism. It is certainly at the top od my list of good movies because it is not only about racism, but about several kinds of discrimination, anti-semitism and gender inequality. And so I think that a lot of people can indentify to both characters and realise that discrimination must be fought. And I think that Spike Lee did a good work because hemanaged to make in making a comedy with a dramatic issue, and Adam Driver and John David Washington have a really good actor's game, it couldn't be other actors! So yes I think that this film is compelling, convincing, realistic, startling and funny, don't miss it!! And there is a lot of reseach from the film director about the KKK, who is a secret organisation of white supremacists directed by Donald Duke and created in 1865 after the Civil War, a war between Northen and Southen states of the USA, the North wanted to abolish slavery and the South didn't. In the movie, we can also see the KKK rites, with the white costums and all tradition. I really enjoyed that because you get out less stupid than you were before seeing the film.

In conclusion, it's a fantastic film, with good actors on the top of that, and you learn a lot about discrimination and humanity, but with funny moments as well. It's a hit and a freat piece of film-making. Go see it!!

Good work, Mr Spike Lee.

Valentine B.

What makes this movie more gutting & funny at the same time is that this is a true story. The horror of those kind of acts actually happening and the laughing stock of how they fooled KKK.

This movie is wonderful acted by Washington and Adam Driver. Topher Grace as David Duke was a scene stealer.

Thank god Spike had a comedic/more entertaining vibe to the film, he did balanced the comedy and horror quite good. The satirical approach makes the film more accessible for the inner message to reach a boarder audience. I have no problems with minor changes to history for entertainment value.

Spike didn't just let the story from a biased-political agenda, he had the Black Panther group. The confrontational scene between Patrice and Ron was well handled with great movitations shown by each character.

The story is unique and exciting but I sadly saw the trailer so the excitement of discovering the movie died for me and I felt bored in the first half, as nothing new was happening. After this I decided to stop watching trailers for indie, oscar films.

The end clips made me feel speechless and how to this day, the horrors exist and why we need more of these film.

Compare to this years Da 5 Five Bloods, this is a more entertaining film but Da 5 Bloods has more artistic merit to it.

Watched BlacKkKlansman on the big screen today.

At home having a think. A big think. The visuals, the historical archives, the meaning of beauty, politics, intent, menace, intellect, ideology, empathy, desire...

All the actors were superb as they flipped between credibility & cartoon. Sublime to the ridiculous.

Chaos, rhythms, harmony reverberated through the script & music.

Still thinking.

Spike Lee's films have never really resonated with me for whatever reason. BlacKkKlansman is a fascinating story with an average execution at best. Lee brings some solid performances out of Adam Driver and John David Washington, but I'm not sure those characters are fleshed out as much as they should be. But my problem doesn't come with the actors or story per say, but more so with the message that is shoved down your throat. The very beginning and end of this movie present a particular message that is prevalent throughout the film on its own, without the book end scenes. It's a powerful message and reminder for our country, which is still going through its own version of the racism shown in the movie. Perhaps more subtle directing and a better 3rd act would have given this a higher score.

6.4/10

I'd love to thank the Adelaide Film Festival Film Club for the free advance screening for this review.

Blackkklansman comes to us from Director Spike Lee & Producer Jordan Peele and tells the true story of Ron Stallworth, the first african-american police officer in Colorado Springs infiltrating the Klu Klux Klan.

To achieve this he enlists the help of a fellow officer played by Adam Driver to pose as him in person while Ron handled the phone calls and planning.

This film is biographical in nature but has some fantastic storytelling, looking at the trailers, it looked like a really fun time with some funny humour about the time period and racism. I'm glad to report this isn't just some comedy movie, here we have a rare film that manages to be funny and outlandish at times but at the same time drives home a serious emotional message, Spike Lee should absolutely be commended for this because it was executed flawlessly.

John David Washington gives an interesting quirky performance here and nails it perfectly, Adam Driver turned out to be much more involved in the story than I had anticipated and has some really great moments.

I have never had a cinema experience quite like this, for instance at the tail end of the film, in the space of 10 minutes the entire audience in my screening went from laughing and some perfectly executed comedic dialogue to utter still silence in absolute awe, frozen & horrified by what was appearing on screen, this silence went on for a few moment even after the fade to black and an applause started up.

This film had me thinking about what I had seen for a long, long time afterward and I am still thinking about it almost every second.

Blackkklansman really shows the Klan for what they really are, and highlights the good work of an amazing african-american police officer. The supporting cast does a great job here, Topher Grace as David Duke was an insanely good performance and I can imagine how hard it would be to embody that particular character and Laura Harrier plays off of Washington beautifully.

In addition there is a great cameo at the beginning of this film, be on the look out!

Blackkklansman is easily in my top 10 for 2018 so far and I urge you all to go see it in cinemas, small warning though, there are some quite confronting images in this film, they are hard to watch but I think that it should be watched as that is the intention here. Blackkklansman is out in cinemas August 17th.

While not all the jokes landed, and some of the music choice for some scenes seemed out of place, Blackkklansman is an extremely good film. Each of the characters have interesting stories and arcs to keep you interested and the small segments of well crafted action kept me entertained. Blackkklansman has a very relevant message with twists and turns which keep you on the edge of your seat. This is a film that everyone should see. My one problem would be the ending, it felt a bit out of place yet it didn't ruin the film for me

What blows me away the most about BlacKkKlansman was its ability to profitably blend such a serious and calamitous subject with an appropriate amount of comedy. Only a long-in-the-business, cinematic master like Spike Lee could pull off such a trick, and he does it without complication. It's also refreshing to see that Spike Lee avoids stereotypes even when depicting some of the more unpleasant and nefarious characters/groups, allowing the film to feel less biased and more grounded in reality with various angles interweaving. BlacKkKlansman contains one of the most hard-hitting, politically dynamic screenplays (right next to Blindspotting) of the year that had me infatuated with revelation. It certainly is one of Spike Lee's best joints in years, maybe even decades. (Verdict: A-)

Honestly, it was fantastic. Superb story and great acting. The movie perfectly balanced humor and heavy-hitting topics while really addressing the American plague that is the KKK. Also, John David Washington and Adam Driver are national treasures.

I read books for facts, watch the tube for entertainment, so any liberties taken in the Ron Stallworth story are fine with me. The movie is pretty buoyant for the subject matter, and pokes fun whenever it can.

Every year I make a point of watching each of the Best Picture nominees for the Academy Awards before the ceremony airs. And every year I'm astonished at some of the films that are considered to be the "best" of the previous year. 'BlacKkKlansman' is a prime example of this. Is it a bad film? No. Is it a good film? Sure. But is it a great film and one of the eight best released in 2018? Not in this lifetime. Sadly I understand a lot of politics come into the Oscars and I think that is a large part of what is at play here. This is a heavily politically driven film that tugs at the heart-strings of just the right type of people that dominate Hollywood and the Academy. For that reason it gets a nomination. Not because it is a great film.

Adam Driver has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards as well. This was also a baffling one to me. His performance is good and highly watchable, but he never blew me away by any stretch of the imagination. I kept waiting for him to be given one big scene he could really shine through and knock the audiences socks off with, but it never came. A really bizarre nomination from the Academy I would find it extremely surprising if he got the win for this reason.

The film was actually very similar to the 2016 film 'Imperium' starring Daniel Radcliffe. Obviously it didn't have the twist of a black man being behind the infiltration, but a lot of the actual person to person undercover scenes were very similar in nature. I think I enjoyed that film more though because it was more interested in telling you a story, instead of ramming a view down your throat. I also thought the real-life footage shown at the end of 'BlacKkKlansman' was cheap and out of place. A very tacky decision by Spike Lee to throw that in there. I miss the days from the 90s when if a film was nominated for Best Picture you could be assured it was a truly brilliant film. This film doesn't even compare to those.

This movie was absolutely amazing, Laura Harrier is such an amazing actress and how she played Patrice was so well done. I would definitely recommend this movie for anyone and everyone

Blackkklansman - Entertaining, original, and funny, "Blackkklansman", showcases an incredible true story, and shows what it was like for minorities to live in the sixties.