Judah and The Black Messiah

Synopsis: Offered a plea deal by the FBI, William O'Neal infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton.

Movie Review:

“Judah and the Black Messiah” is directed by Shaka King and is the true story of how William O’Neal went undercover in the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on its leader Fred Hampton. I thought this movie was an important movie about race, diversity, violence and consequences. Daniel Kaluuya plays Fred Hampton the leader of the Chicago Black Panther Party and he is the best part of this film. He delivered an emotional, heartbreaking performance every time he was on screen. Lakeith Stanfield also stands out as William O’Neal the man who was forced to go undercover by the FBI. His scenes are intense to watch as his character portrays the terrified mole caught between the FBI and the Black Panther Party. I did enjoy Dominque Fishback who plays Deborah Johnson. She falls in love with Fred Hampton and comes on strong in the first half of the movie, but she gets sidelined in the second half which felt disappointing because I thought they had wonderful chemistry. Jesse Plemons plays FBI informant Roy Mitchell and he was great as he shows how despicable the FBI was during the 60s. Martin Sheen plays FBI director J. Edger Hoover and he completely transforms into this character even though he is barely in the movie. One of the biggest issues that I had was that the film has a strong opening and sets up the tension between the FBI and the Black Panther Party, unfortunately the second half was boring and predictable. However, “Judah and the Black Messiah” has a strong ending that educates the audience and a talented cast. I am giving “Judah and the Black Messiah” a 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Director: Shaka King

Cast: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Dominique Fishback, Jesse Plemons, Algee Smith, Dominique, Jermaine Fowler, Terayle Hill, Lil Rel Howery and Martin Sheen

Runtime: 125 minutes