The Great Debaters

A cliched but noble story and of course, Denzel is admirable in his role.

A well-made movie that will get no credit from me because it gets every aspect of structured debate wrong. It also so conveniently hits on every racial discussion possible but has very little real substance.

Boring to the point of being offensive.

Solidly-produced drama, but follows a very predictable path in the notes it strikes. As a glimpse into America's racism of the 1930s it's compelling. The minor details make for a better historical picture than the main plot. Production-wise it's excellent and every actor is stellar in their performance. It's just a bit too predictable. Also, the actual debating sucks. I've seen better debates in Youtube comments.

This is an interesting film. The students all give good performances. I would have liked to have seen more scenes with Washington and Forest Whitaker together.

A concept that has been done to death several times already. Good acting can't helpt the film being formulaic and predictable.

It seems to try too hard to be inspiring. It functions as a good comment on race relations, however--whether it's in the Thirties or today. Perfect cast.

This suffers from the usual Left Wing partisan agenda w/ the debaters arguing in favor of "welfare" while ignoring that welfare as we've known it since the 60s didn't exist back then & reminding us Southerners were particularly racist, but not that Dems were also. What the film avoids saying is what's most obvious & good: even LEGITIMATE systemic racism proved no barrier for blacks who valued merit & hard work. They managed to outperform whites w/out affirmative action or scrubbing SAT scores.

This is the better 'Denzel' film of 2007. Smart, educational, and moving... It all starts with the writing!

I understand more than most, why these stories are important, but despite some great actors, it's still pretty cliche heavy. And there's not much of a directorial perspective.

Probably hurt by the fact I had watched Resolved soon before.

This Denzel Washington-directed film follows the path of a Texan Negro college's debate team's path to victory in the national debating championship. While the script is quite predictable and the concept has been done many times, the solid performances from all actors involved make the story all the more moving.

Now a lot of this is inspirational sap and whatnot, but Washington distracts us from the fact by doing something interesting. He steps aside with fellow Oscar winner Forest Whitaker who also shares the screen, and lets his talented young stars make the movie. Granted, Washington and Whitaker are great here, but it's the students that make the movie more than a pile of cliches. It's quite the fascinating little drama, and one of the year's best.

A very powerful and moving story. This movie was well directed and captured the struggles of race in the early 1900's

Disjointed storytelling. Good acting by all the characters, but wish it had been edited better. Hope to see more of Jurnee Smollett because she's kinda hot.

A handful of historical inaccuracies marr the film slightly for me, but many movies "based on a true story" stray from the truth for dramatic tension so it feel more run of the mill than anything else. Could have had more pop if the debaters argued non-progressive at least once in the movie. An uplifting film that hits all the Hollywood marks giving a decently fair look into the time period. So Hollywood though, I felt like it was a setup for a sequel called 'The Civil Rights Movement'.

Great film. It works as a history despite following the typical formula of a Hollywood sports story. Forest Whitaker steals many scenes with his commanding presence. The labour movement sub-plot could have been explored more thoroughly; in some ways that aspect of the plot was more interesting than the ambitions of the young debaters.

Partial redemption lies in the idea that the story is mainly about hope, not hate. (And not really about sexual misdeeds, either.) It's about true empowerment, which requires the passionate engagement of one's mind and will. It rejects postmodernist wish-wash for a clear understanding of truth. It indirectly rejects much of today's hip-hop culture and suggests that the only bling worth anything is a college diploma, a polished mind and a shiny debate trophy. (pluggedin.com)

In the video store, I overheard a customer request an uplifting film. Without hesitation, the attendant pressed The Great Debaters into her hands. The customer will not be disappointed. This is not a great film, but it satisfies on all counts, the cinematic equivalent to a square meal.

Bonus points for Denzel being in it, and double bonus points for him directing it. Forest Whitaker was solid too in a supporting role. I liked how the four teammates each represented different backgrounds, but that even though they were different they were all dealing with the same issue of racism in Texas. This all culminating in my eyes with the speech in the Harvard debate.

ögretmen, ögrenci, münazara, irkçilik, zenci, üniversite, sendika, Mervin Tolson, James Farmer Jr, Samantha Booke, Henry Lowe (Mervin Tolson bir münazara takimi kurar ve takim calismaya baslar. Bu arada 1935 amerikasinida taniyacaksiniz. Begendim)

Enjoyable sappy well made junk. So much of what's expected that it becomes saccharine & ridiculous. "Used to be based on a true story," is more like it.

The subject matter could have been soooo interesting and intriguing--a black debate team that takes on an oppressive white society. Unfortunately, a weak screenplay delivers nothing inspirational or even remotely intriguing. Skip on this cleverly packaged DUD at the video store; instead rent Akeelah and the Bee to satisfy your craving that you thought The Debaters would deliver.

28 ocak 11, felsefe dersi & basarili oyunculuk, klise bir senaryoyu kurtarabilir mi? her ne kadar gercek bir hikayeden yola cikilarak yapilmissa da..

"Without unpredictability or the possibility of an unhappy ending, how can a film truly inspire?" - Nick Schager

Not bad.

2018-10-14

THIS A'INT NO BANK ROBBERY

This Denzel Washington-directed film follows the path of a Texan Negro college's debate team's path to victory in the national debating championship. While the script is quite predictable and the concept has been done many times, the solid performances from all actors involved make the story all the more moving.

Good performances by the actors, and a nice, well rounded story to go with it.

Weird. I had alot of fun with it but don't seem to posess the eloquence to describe why. Or the memory. Time for a rewatch but I stand by my rating for now. I know that I loved Whitaker - again.

I love Denzel Washington so I decided to watch this film despite how poor it looked. It is really sad. All the characters behave pretty much like retards from a B grade movie, and it makes the film look more like racist propaganda not whatever it is. PS: If you've taken English 101 think about the debates. They wouldn't get a passing grade in English 101 at my local community college.

really nice. thanks to Uncle Denzel!