Emancipation (2022) User Reviews

Falls Short

[tdwillis-26273 · 6/10 · 9 December 2022]

Unfortunately I was unable to deeply connect to the characters emotionally. Although the cinematography was excellent, I felt that the movie relied too heavily on it and it wasn't enough to carry the movie. I feel that it was the script/story that felt too simplified. It felt rushed and edited to pieces....and just not thorough enough.

The score was mediocre at best. Nothing new to help us connect.

Top notch acting here, but lack of full character exploration (again lack of good script) feels like a huge injustice.

It did make me want to find out more about this particular American Hero tho.

freedom in Baton Rouge

[ferguson-6 · 5/10 · 8 December 2022]

Greetings again from the darkness. Persistence. It's the word used to describe "runners" by the man known for tracking the slaves who try to escape the abusive treatment and back-breaking work of plantations. However, the word can also be used to describe how the movie industry 'persists' in bringing us stories about how white slave owners created a brutal environment for black slaves. We really do get it. The history is awful and the treatment is inexcusable. It's just difficult to understand how more movies are going to make any difference in what happened 150 years ago.

Steve McQueen's 12 YEARS A SLAVE was released in 2013 and won the Oscar for Best Picture. In that film, Solomon Northrup was a free man dragged into slavery. In this film, Peter (Oscar winner Will Smith, KING RICHARD) has never known freedom, but fights for it. Both are based on true stories, and the biggest difference is in the scripts. The first was a terrific script that established many characters and told a remarkable tale. This latest film focuses too much on action pieces (a specialty of director Antoine Fuqua, TRAINING DAY,2001), and really boils down to two distinct segments: a chase scene and a battlefield. While thrilling to watch, neither segment delivers anything near the emotional heft of McQueen's movie.

Will Smith spent decades carefully cultivating an image of a nice guy playing characters that were easy to root for. All of that recently changed in the blink of a slap. This first role since that stunning on stage event seems designed to get his career and reputation back in line. Peter is a man-of-faith, a beloved family man, and a lifelong slave from Haiti. When he is separated from his wife Dodienne (Charmaine Bingwa) and kids in order to go build a railroad for the confederate army, he vows to return to them. Not long after, he overhears that President Lincoln has freed the slaves, and so he plans his escape. As a "runner", he is tracked by Jim Fassell, played with the cold, steely eyes of Ben Foster. Foster is mostly relegated to riding a horse and following his dogs, but he does get one campfire scene to explain the racism he was born into.

The cat and mouse game of life and death between pursuer and runaway takes up more than half of the film's run time, and most of it sloshes through the swamps of Louisiana. Snakes, gators, injuries, and the challenges of water all present obstacles for Peter to complete his journey to Baton Rouge, without being killed. The story (written by Bill Collage) has been drawn from the infamous "Whipped Peter" photo that was used to bring the atrocities of slavery to the masses, and has since appeared in many history books. It's recreated here in a short scene, one that probably deserved a bit more screen time. As for the Civil War battlefield, it continues the fantastic work of cinematographer Robert Richardson, a three-time Oscar winner. In fact, the entire film is a work of visual art, filmed in what has the look of black and white, with only splashes of muted color for effect. For those seeking another film on slavery, you'd be hard pressed to find a better looking one than this. Just don't expect it to dig deep for meaning.

The film will have a limited theatrical run and opens on AppleTV+ on December 9, 2022.

Generic, predictable and highly forgettable movie

[851222 · 6/10 · 15 January 2023]

Greetings from Lithuania.

Although I have never heard a story about this infamous picture taken during slavery times, nor I saw "Emancipation" (2022) before, I could swore I have seen this movie many times before when i was watching it. "Emancipation" is not a bad film, but its just so shallow and generic and forgettable, that you will forget it after seeing it very quickly. Performances were descent but characters are so two dimensional that i did not care about anyone here, including main character - and that sounds like a problem for movie about some historical event and figure. And that is shame because when you have Oscar winner in a lead role, very good supporting actor as well as very talented director, this should have turn out way better then it was. Unfortunately "Emancipation" was highly predictable and forgettable "actioneer" set in historical time.

Run For Your Life...

[Xstal · 6/10 · 11 December 2022]

It's nothing you haven't seen before, but that doesn't mean that it's a chore, reflecting on past wrongs and crimes, should be done all of the time, especially, as there are those who don't abhor; here we journey in the mire, the swamps that inflict pain and tire, to escape the evil clutches of the whip, the gun, dog judges, through a world that's cruel and dire, freedom's something you acquire, but you're more likely to win, a back of waves and rippled skin.

For me, the cinematography and the semi monochrome effect detracted from the whole. Some of the dialogue was a bit prosaic and the story was predictable; I needed to have the subtitles on to understand a lot of what was being said. I don't think it will go down as a landmark piece of filmmaking on the subject of slavery, to compare it to 12 Years a Slave or Antebellum or indeed Roots would give it credibility it doesn't deserve, but it does deserve some credit, and it does have a story to tell.

Good...

[Thanos_Alfie · 7/10 · 26 February 2023]

"Emancipation" is an Action - Thriller movie in which we follow a slave trying to return to his family after escaping from a plantation where the owners almost killed him. He has to overcome many obstacles on his way back but he is determined to do anything.

I liked this movie because it has a nice, interesting plot that combined very well action with suspense. It reminded me a bit of "12 Years a Slave" of 2013 but I have to admit that "Emancipation" is not that good. The interpretation of Will Smith who played as Peter was very good and he made the difference along with Ben Foster who played as Jim Fassel. To sum up, I have to say that "Emancipation" is a nice movie and I recommend you to watch it.

Why so much hatred for this Movie???

[sosrivi · 7/10 · 10 December 2022]

Well, I really enjoyed the film. It is a story about survival, freedom and individual self-confidence. Will Smith's performance was amazing. Odds of winning a Oscar for his performance is very high. Good cinematography, unique color correction and a brilliant stunt sequence.

The alligator scene in particular was shot very well. The ugly truth of slavery shows how few inhuman animals existed in the past. Small request for the viewers, Don't compare movie with the artist personal life, both are different.

An emotional drama about slavery and a reminder of how unfair the past has been to people of color.

A movie made by algorithm for Oscar nods

[stevelivesey-37183 · 3/10 · 6 February 2023]

Will Smith, check.

Black and white film stock, check.

Lots of brutality and slavery depicted in graphic detail, check.

Partially coloured sections like schindlers list, check.

Battle scenes like the ones Denzel made famous in 'Glory', check.

Historically important context given a photograph that links everything to the present, check.

Schmaltzy, happy ending, check.

This is all stuff that we have seen before and seen it done better elsewhere. It's all so unoriginal, harrowing, for sure, but just a copycat of better movies.

Are there any good bits? Well, Ben Foster is good. Some of the cinematography is nice but really that's about it.

Seriously why so low?

[shadow51-67-392160 · 10/10 · 18 December 2022]

I love IMDB and use the ratings as my guide to Whether a movie deserves my time to watch it. So glad I didn't check before watching this. Is it a 10? Obviously not but come on, 5.8 (at time of review), that's just insulting. I've seen far crapier movies with far higher ratings. This should be rated in the sevens for sure. I don't normally bother with reviews but felt I had to say something here!

Acting was fantastic, cinematography was amazing and the story was engaging. Not sure what more anyone could want to rate a movie good. I have to admit I love Will Smith and Ben Foster and thought hey were both brilliant. I think this movie will be appreciated with time.

PART OF SMITH'S APOLOGY TOUR...?

[masonfisk · 6/10 · 9 July 2023]

Will Smith stars in this Antoine Fuqua (The Equalizer/Bait) film from last year. Smith, a Haitian slave now in America, has just been conscripted to work for the south getting their rail lines in order but the keepers are especially brutal which spurs Smith to kill one of his minders causing him to flee w/some others while a slave hunter, the always reliable Ben Foster, hunts him down. What follows is a prolonged chase between Foster & Smith (since compatriots are lost on both sides) where Smith's innate sense of survival allows him to finally get his freedom, fight for the North & return himself back to his family. Smith in any other year may've taken this perf (just from its sheer weight & importance) to a nomination but then slapgate happened so, the film notwithstanding, feels like a mea culpa to the governing body of the Oscars to forgive him but until his own personal demons are addressed not even a cancer cure, well maybe that, will get Smith in the good graces of audiences & critics alike. Also starring Mustafa Shakir as a fellow slave & Steven Ogg, from the Walking Dead, as a Confederate sergeant.

Emancipation struggles tremendously to justify its existence.

[msbreviews · 4/10 · 8 December 2022]

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"Emancipation struggles tremendously to justify its existence. The overly performative, superficial screenplay fails to elevate and distinguish the unique, true story of "Whipped Peter" from all the other generic movies that treat slavery as a mere plot point to "yet another" action/survival flick - surely there's a better way to adapt these stories?!

Cinematography (Robert Richardson), cast - mainly Will Smith - and some of Antoine Fuqua's direction do a lot of the heavy lifting, but it starts to get tiring and painful to continue to watch shameful, traumatic events of our history being used repeatedly for pure Hollywood entertainment."

Rating: C-

A masterpiece about slavery, courage and survival, with a stunningly brilliant performance by Will Smith

[antoniatejedabarros · 10/10 · 9 December 2022]

Emancipation is a masterpiece about slavery, courage, dignity, love, irrational hate, and survival. Will Smith's performance is absolutely breathtaking: brilliant, exquisite, and full of sorrow and depth. The rest of the cast, especially Charmaine Bingwa, is great too. The cinematography (Robert Richardson: who is also the cinematographer of Inglorious Basterds, Django Unchained, Once Upon a Time in...Hollywood) is fantastic, and the direction (Antoine Fuqua) is brilliant. There are some very cruel and very hard scenes to watch, and I missed a bit of depth in some of the characters, but overall this is a brilliant film about one of the most horrific injustices and cruelties that human beings have produced. A must see. Bravo to all. 10/10.

Ok at best

[ajfalco19 · 6/10 · 15 December 2022]

It makes no sense that the "masters" spent so much time chasing the slaves only to just kill them off, rather than trying to get them back to their camp. A large majority of the movie is of Peter running through the swamp while the dogs chasing him are right on his tail, yet not close enough. I thought the acting played by will smith was subpar and the movie dragged. They could've made the film 20 minutes shorter and taken out a lot of the running around. Although the movie moved slowly, I still find this time in history to be shocking and it was interesting to see how it played out. Overall, ok at best.

cartoon with real people, just another slavery movie money grab.

[Rob-O-Cop · 3/10 · 14 December 2022]

This looked like it might have been good but it quickly became clear this was just a trite blockbuster pinned to the very real story of US slavery.

The first half was a thriller chase through the swamps, with the obligatory nasty slave owners behaving badly and being caricature nasty, easy to hate, no depth, no attempt made at depth or background.

This was just a cartoon with real people.

It got boring really quickly when it became apparent that this was just going to be a cat and mouse chase movie. Way too long, way too over done, way.

Let's be honest, this really isn't the topic for entertainment, so unless you've got something new to say, something worthwhile, maybe just don't make a movie on this topic.

Could have been better

[rehmankhilji · 6/10 · 14 December 2022]

The movie isn't that bad, but the reviews as i read are pretty hard on him. To be honest, the movie is good, but certainly not great, if to be said in a nutshell.

In an era of 4K making a movie in black and white, i don't know what the makers were thinking, perhaps the idea was to give it an historical effect, but for me this was the biggest negative aspect of the movie. Taking colours of life, well dramatize the situation but pull out all the entertainment one looks for in movie too.

Risky step taken, but not worked.

As for the acting, full one ace, 10/10 for will smith, with utmost dedication, with his full heart and mind and what beautiful adaption he carried out into this character.

In addition all the actors performed superbly well, direction was beautiful, scenes, dialogues, script everything worth it but just this uncolorful presentation for me has taken the beauty from the movie.

Still regardless, it worth the watch, one time if not more for sure.

Strong performances, solid film

[Alexander_Blanchett · 7/10 · 9 December 2022]

It was a solid anti slavery action thriller. I liked the concept which appeared to be a more serious concept version of Django Unchained and a mix between the Tarantino classic and 12 Years a Slave.

Antoine Fuqua presented his own film and thats what I liked about it, he did not try to copy the famous two classics but made something on his very own. In recent Academy Award winner Will Smith he found a fantstic actor (who ironically was a front runner for the Django Unchained lead ) who gives a strong, brave and powerful performance . The type of performance itself is compareable to Lenoardo DiCaprio in "The Revenant". Its an extremly phyiscal role and while DiCaprio famously fought a bear, we see Will Smith fighting an alligator. But Smith does great from the beginning to the end and once again delivers one of his finest performances. The other cast member worth to mention is Ben Foster who gave a silent and very menacing performance that goes right under your skin. He has a fantastic monologue in the middle of the film. One of the best supporting performances I have seen this year so far.

While I loved those two performances I was a bit let down by the film in general. It has fantastic action and battlefield scenes, but becomes quickly very monotone which causes certain lenghts, especially in the mid section of the film. I think they could have worked a bit longer in the editing room to speed up the pacing. Also while there are some great shots by cinematographer Robert Richardson, I found the film too dark and grey for its own sake.

Still worth to see, not the classic I was anticipating.

It's ok.

[gravloc · 6/10 · 9 December 2022]

My biggest complaint is the choice to go black and white, but a really weird looking black and white. It almost looks like it was shot on a cellphone. It's really distracting from trying to actually get into the movie. It was just a really bad choice in my opinion. I like pretty much everything Antoine Fuqua has ever made. Unfortunately, this is probably meant to be the most profound work he has ever done, and it's just not. It's really well made, and well acted, and technically proficient. It just doesn't have the impact that I think it's meant to have, which is disappointing. Plus, Ben Foster is a great actor, but I think he needs to move on from being the go to bad guy. However, the weird choice of the strange looking black and white, or whatever it is I was looking at was what really took me out of the experience the most. Oh well, overall it wasn't bad.

Too much coincidence

[neonrt-492-48717 · 3/10 · 10 December 2022]

I know they have to move the movie along but him running into his friends in the swamp after they separated was a bit unrealistic. Also there being a horse trail every 5 feet in a swamp. And the fact the guy on the horse was like 30 seconds behind him but never caught up to him, them left only to be behind him later. Then the burning house, he walks straight up to it, then once inside takes 10 min to walk with a strange stance in one room. He never picks up a gun or a dry pair of boots. 2 dogs vanish from the chase the moment it was time to shoot a dog. The alligator fought like a pool toy. He never looks in the boxes on the beach. The cannons were doing no damage compared to the guns but were the main focus. He yells and yells for his wife 3 feet to the left. Who with only 20 men there she should have noticed him. There were too many "wait what? " moments in the movie for me to not be removed from what I am watching .

Feels like they made a blockbuster about Slavery

[subxerogravity · 8/10 · 5 December 2022]

I can't stop thinking about the idea of how far this movie could have gone if not for...

It's a good movie with an easy out if it does bad thanks to its star Will Smith. Smith plays Peter, A Haitian born god fairing man who spent most of his life as a slave, and defying the words of Kayne West, and proving that knowledge is power and ignorance is not always bliss, when Peter receives the knowledge that slavery is now his choice (due to overhearing that Lincoln freed him but his master was gonna tell him that) he makes the right one, which triggers the events of this movie.

Based on a true story of a slave, turned buffalo soldier whose image of his back is possibly one of the earliest times a picture was used to spread a campaign to a mass amount of people, the film is formulated like a blockbuster about slavery. It seems to be a strange flavor to fill a blockbuster jar but you can't help it when you have the shooting star trying his best not to fall, Smith all up in this movie. You barely would know if anyone else was in the film as the camera focus on Will the whole time.

Emancipation hits or misses with Smith so dynamically that it was obvious that he was going out for an Oscar that he surely won't get, which is too bad cause if he got one for King Richard, his performance here was even better.

While Ben Foster as the evil white Master was haunting enough, the only other true star in the picture was director Antone Foqua who made a movie so visually stunning with what seem like so little. His camera action as he featuring the scenery of the swamp was amazing.

I did love this movie. Always hard to swallow those films about those "good old days", but it was filled with suspenseful action, and of course if you still love Will, this will work for you.

Black and white....

[nukem4747 · 6/10 · 19 December 2022]

Not a reference to the subject matter, but the cinematography. I get it... I get that sometimes black and white, or in this case, extremely low level of color saturation allowed, can, and has been used in an artistic way. But for the life of me, I cannot understand why such a masterpiece was done in it. This was a great movie. Great content. Great story, and based on a true story at that. WHY ON EARTH DID YOU SCREW IT UP BY REMOVING THE COLOR???? An otherwise fantastic piece. But ruined by sucking the life out of it. The imagery, and immersion that is created by films like this is wonderful. But due to no color, I felt completely disassociated from the plight of Peter. It was really hard to even stay in my seat to finish it. Stop it.... get some help...

Was not a fan of the desaturated cinematography

[Neptune165 · 3/10 · 13 December 2022]

I thought the writing was shallow and the story definitely was written for a voyeur audience. The directing, cinematography, and score are great. Will Smith wasn't special in this. The supporting actors were stronger imo. I'm sorry but I'm so tired of movies like these. At this point they're just profiting off of real life horror stories. And they serve no purpose other than to piss you off. Yeah, I'm one of the people of the belief that we don't necessarily need more slave films. However...I agree about needing the education that can be had from a slave movie BUT...only when there is something relevant, enlightening and new. Otherwise, it's just another....slave story.

From running to fighting

[valerianodellalonga · 8/10 · 11 December 2022]

I like the concept: the main character runs away from slavery and then joins the ranks to fight against it.

I am still not so sure about the choice of a washed out look for the filmography, even though I get the idea of trying to replicate the same look from the photography of "Whipped Peter" which the story is inspired to.

Acting is very good: Will Smith does a great performance, as well as Ben Foster too (who plays a real difficult role btw).

The pace is good, especially during the runaway phase in the swamp: it conveys very well the emotional state of a person being hunted in such dangerous environment.

Antoine Fuqua made maybe one his most valuable movies with this one, and I won't be surprised if he gets nominated for an Academy Award as best director.

Black and white makes it difficult to watch

[tonik_2000 · 7/10 · 9 March 2023]

This was a very good film. But the black and white made it an absolutely miserable experience. Was it done because of the fact that the story was based on a single photo and therefore wanted to honor it as being an extension of it? Black and white does not do well with this kind of setting at all, the trees, swamps, tall grasses, mud, earth, ragged people, they all blend together and it becomes a chore to the eye to separate all of it. I just wonder what it would have looked like in color, because watching it was a headache and it was hard to engage with what translated as a continual mess on the screen.

Exploitative shlock with a few hilariously cheesy lines

[RebelPanda · 4/10 · 22 December 2022]

Emancipation is a 2022 historical drama directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Will Smith. The film follows the story of Peter, an escaped slave who joins the Union Army during the Civil War in order to gain his freedom.

Will Smith gives a mediocre performance as Peter, a man who is desperate to gain his freedom and will do anything to make it happen. Smith brings a intensity and strength to a corny script, and his performance is one of the most out-of-place parts of the film. His co-star Ben Foster plays a frigheting racist plantation owner. Their duality is reminicent of The Revenant.

The production design of the film is high-budget, with the jungle setting and the battles providing a great backdrop for the story to unfold. The cinematography is decent, but it doesn't bring the black and white story to life.

Overall, Emancipation is a failed attempt at an oscar bait film that will leave little impression on the viewer. Smith's performance is the highlight, but for all the wrong reasons. For anyone interested in the history of slavery and the Civil War, watch something more realistic.

Tremendous cinematography, but...

[onexmillion · 7/10 · 12 December 2022]

What's with the strange colour palette of this movie? The, almost black and white with the odd hues of colour thrown in.

One of the most wonderful gifts that most of us are lucky enough to have is to see this wonderful world in all it's beautiful colours. So why purposefully detract a feature that can only enhance it?

I felt that this decision was a little off putting. In some scenes it was a little difficult to distinguish certain things and because of the lack of colour, I felt the film lacked visual depth in certain places.

That's a shame because the camera work was stunning. This arty farty stuff simply took away from the movie.

That aside, I felt the movie was really quite stunning in every area. Would have scored it a 9, but 2 points off for the ridiculous colourisation reduction.

I've Seen Worse Films

[johnharapa · 6/10 · 14 December 2022]

"Emancipation" tells the triumphant story of Peter (Will Smith), a man who escapes from slavery, relying on his wits, unwavering faith and deep love for his family to evade cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on his quest for freedom.

The film is inspired by the 1863 photos of "Whipped Peter," taken during a Union Army medical examination, that first appeared in Harper's Weekly. One image, known as "The Scourged Back," which shows Peter's bare back mutilated by a whipping delivered by his enslavers, ultimately contributed to growing public opposition to slavery.

That said, It's a remarkable movie. Well worth watching.