Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Simply Perfect

Awesome Movie

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

"The Great Debaters" was Denzel Washington's second movie as a director and it is one of the best movies that he has ever done. The movie stars Washington as Professor Melvin B. Tolson who teaches at Wiley College which at the time during the 1930's was an all black college located in Texas. As the title of the movie happens to give away during the early scenes of the movie Tolson decides to start a debate team that even though it has very few members during the course of the movie the team proves to be very effective with a strong winning record when it comes to debating other colleges from all across the country climbing the ladder from debating just black colleges in the beginning to debating white colleges near and towards the end of the movie. The team members include James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker, who isn't related to Forest Whitaker) whose father James Farmer Sr. (Forest Whitaker) also happens to be a college professor, Samantha Booke (Jurnee Somllett-Bell) and a few others. Washington's direction for this movie is so good along with Robert Eisele's screenplay the movie really makes you feel like you are really there in the debate audience watching these characters or at least that's how I felt while watching the movie. This isn't the only movie that Denzel Washington starred in in 2007 the other film being Ridley Scott's "American Gangster" which was also based on the true story of mobster Frank Lucas in which Washington also happened to give a great performance. Because of this movie i'm looking very much forward to seeing the other two films that were directed by Denzel Washington which are "Antwone Fisher" (2002) which was his first film as a director, and his most recent film "Fences"(2016). This is the best civil rights drama that I have seen so far and is one of 2007's very best films.

It's a good film definitely but something that could have been much better. Racism is what this film is about I can say. But the debates are equally interesting. It's tough to debate on anything without having much knowledge about the topic. If we were to debate then we must have full knowledge of what we are talking about. The actors here have precisely done that, they seem to be in control of a good director and make us believe that they are fully aware of the topic of the debate.Denzel Washington is the director and also acts in the movie and I am sure this was the toughest thing to do. To act is much easy than directing, but to do both and still make it good is terrific. I am happy that Denzel almost pulled it off with neat direction.Yes, I have qualms from this movie. It's very nicely packaged but at the end leaves a void and leaves us with a wish of how much could this have been. I wish it was more about debates than about personal turmoil and conflict. There is a love story, a parent-child relationship and the relationship of teacher and students. Except for the love-story, the other things are fine. I wish still that this love-story that was between Samantha Booke (played by Jurnee Smollet) and Nate Parker (played by Henry Lowe) was not needed.It's a film based in 1930's and the production design, the art direction have worked well. They are pretty decent and seem to take us through that period of 1930's. The cinematography was just good, but I believe there was lot much scope in this film and considering that film was made in 2007, I suppose full potential of camera was not used. My biggest crib is editing though, there are few scenes that I believe were not needed and cut have been cut. The second biggest crib is in writing, I suppose that the material given was good, but not enough to make an interesting movie. So, I think that's the reason why uncalled from drama and relationships had to be added up in the screenplay.Surely, this is a good film, but some deep down thought and more focus on debating would have made it a great film. A 3/5 for a good film. For others, it's up to them to decide.

Based on the efforts of Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington), who brought blacks from Wiley College to set an equal footing with the whites.This was the dark age of where the blacks lives in fear, afraid to walk places where ruled by the whites because they knew they would be lynched and hung alive.Set in 1930s, Tolson is a debate coach for Wiley Coach, also an educator who guide his fellow students to victory against Harvard College.Also on Wiley's debate team is James L. Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker), Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett).Booke is the first woman and black to ever participated in the debate team simultaneously also defeating the Harvard College alongside with Farmer Jr.--During the 1930s, some states of United States of America still enslaved the black people. They discriminate them and lynch them alive and hang them for the vultures.The white supremacy in that era was strong and some still adapt the old culture of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). The blacks are always living in fear until a few would stood for their rights.In The Great Debaters, we explore to see both black and white culture and their upbringing. There were racism and discrimination in every way. It's a great film. Somehow, it still reflects on our today's society.And it's almost like having Barack Obama as the first black president of United States.

Denzel Washington is Mr. Tolson, the head of the debate team of a Blacks only Willey college. He starts building a team of students to participate at the inter college level. He is also secretly inspiring the cotton growing farmers to fight for their rights against the land owners. Forest Whitaker is the theology professor and the father of one of the students who gets selected for the debating team. How the debating team is selected, how they go on an unbeaten spree and how they perform against Harvard's debating team forms the core of the movie. There are 4 members on the team whose characters are well drawn. There is Ms. Booke who has joined the college with the express view of getting on this team. There is Whitaker's son who is the youngest member of the team. Then there is a restless soul called Lowe whose character goes through a huge transformation during the duration of the flick. The dialogues are wonderfully written and end up stirring your soul more often than not. The best part about Washington's direction is that he does not bring the focus on him but keeps it on the young debaters. There is a heart wrenching scene showing lynching of the blacks. Just wish that Whitaker would have got a few more scenes. The one scene between Washington and Whitaker is one of the best scenes of the movie. This is an inspiring movie and I loved it. 3.5 out of 5.