If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

There have been a spate of right wing reviews of this film, all repeating the same talking points. Right wing in this case means either racist, or those determined to take down an icon among the 70s counterculture, Mr. Carter.So determined are they to take down Carter's image, they resort to easily disproved and almost trivial falsehoods. It takes quite a bit of obsessiveness to dismiss Carter's boxing career as either "failed" or "mediocre." Two pairs of reviews repeat those talking points. Anyone can easily look up that Carter was ranked third as a contender against the champion.Another falsehood is the claim that there was no all white jury, that two Black jurors were on it. This one is harder to disprove without knowing where to look. Most links require some digging. The easiest one is The Guardian's article by a lawyer for Carter. Yes, it was an all white jury. And no, Carter was not a Black Panther, the silliest of all the claims in the negative reviews.Yes, this film does have quite a few falsehoods. About the only one the negative wing reviews get right is that Carter did lose the fight featured at the film's start. Nearly all the falsehoods in the film DIMINISH, DOWNPLAY, or LESSEN the amount of racism in his case.Why would supposedly liberal Hollywood remove much of the racism Carter faced in his case? First, Hollywood is not all that liberal, not in a genuine way. Openly racist recent films like American Sniper and Green Hell show that. The film makers for The Hurricane altered the facts because the real history is pretty complicated.The film lays blame for Carter's imprisonment on one crooked racist cop. In truth, there were multiple racist cops who framed Carter. The main witness against Carter, a mob connected thief, is here shown testifying to get his sentence reduced. Actually, he was heavily bribed by police too.A whole series of attorneys for the DA's office also took part in setting up Carter. But the film makers likely thought white viewers wouldn't believe the actual massive conspiracy with over a dozen police and lawyers. So they chose to make it just one fictional man.Even the anti racist activists are diminished. The film depicts Carter's realize as coming from three "Canadians." Actually it was a vast network of dozens of supporters. The film also leaves out Carter's own violent past. Surprisingly, none of the right wing reviews mention this. Carter did have a juvenile record of assault and theft. He also had court martials while in the military. Here the film makers could have done what Dead Man Walking did, admit the main subject was a deeply flawed criminal who still got railroaded and a punishment he did not deserve.Another model the film makers could have used is the far older Birdman of Alcatraz. Burt Lancaster played real life murder Robert Stroud, one who showed himself to be reformed. (The big difference, of course, is that most evidence shows Carter was never a murderer.) Rubin Carter, despite his criminal past, did great things after being released. He headed the Ass'n in Defence of the Wrongly Accused, which helped 21 others gain their freedom. He received awards, honorary degrees, and was in great demands as a motivational speaker.But none of the right wing/racist reviews mention any of that. They also don't mention that police falsely arrested him yet again, this time falsely accusing him of dealing drugs. Hollywood doesn't mention it either. Again, white audiences might have a hard time understanding just how constant police harassment is for Blacks...and Latinos and American Indians, as I can tell from personal experience.The Hurricane is a moving film. It's a shame the film makers believed some whites wouldn't find the actual amount of racism in this case believable. Al Carroll Author of Medicine Bags and Dog Tags, Presidents' Body Count, and A Proposed New Constitution.

Denzel truly deserved an Oscar for this and in the Equalizer over his performance in Training Day. I mean the expression "eyes are the windows to the soul" made sense after I saw this film. Every word, every pantomime professionally delivered by Denzel began to accrue his innocence and eventually oozed out of his eyes. Brilliant direction, if not for the twisting of facts for commercial gains and to play the race card up a notch.This movie definitely deserves more than the 7.6 accorded to it at present.

Denzel Washington stars as Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, an up and coming African-American boxer who lived in Paterson, New Jersey. Director Norman Jewison delivers a powerful drama that kicks you in the guts multiple times, making you empathize with the injustice of Carter's incarceration on false charges of murder.Carter was no saint mind you. The film walks you through his youth and encounters with a certain detective Della Pesca. Carter grew up in the 1960s in a time of extreme racial prejudice, which comes through in all aspects of the story. Although this film is based on a true story, the director advises us that some characters have been made up and some activities have been fictionalized for the story. Therefore, you are not sure what is close to reality, and what is Hollywood fiction.The story focuses on the efforts of a young kid from Brooklyn, Lesra, played very well by Vicellous Reon Shannon, to become friends with and eventually help Carter get justice. Lesra is helped by three Canadians who take him under their wings to help him. There always underlies suspicion about their motives, but the film makes it seem they simply saw this boy had potential and needed some assistance to reach it.The film weaves you through the murder, the trial, the imprisonment, and efforts to appeal. The process drags on, for years, giving my only critique that perhaps the film could have been shorter. The anguish though, is palpable, similar to 12 Years a Slave, without the blood.Denzel Washington is simply terrific, and won the Golden Globe Best Actor for his portrayal. He delivered so many emotions in this role, particularly during his first visit to solitary confinement where he has a battle, with himself, to basically retain his sanity, and later, his dignity. Why he did not win the Osacar, I'm not sure.The ending will grip you, as they risk all in a life or death fight for justice. Watch for a short but important role by all-time-great, Rod Steiger, perfectly cast by the way.At almost 2 1/2 hours, the movie runs long, but it keeps moving. There is a fine interweaving of music, particularly the song Bob Dylan wrote about the Hurricane. This is a must-see film about race, prejudice, redemption, and justice that will stay with you. Enjoy.

The story is so strong, and it being a factual one only makes it even stronger. It's like that if you've already watched IMDb's number 1 movie of the Top 250, The Shawshank Redemption, and thought that was a great movie, I think you will enjoy this movie at least just the same. I like the earlier story flow style of back and forth. The movie puts enough duration to draw the background, not just to the main story but also to the root of the hatred and Rubin's childhood. The dramatization is just enough without have to be too graphic to depict the needed crucial details. The screenplay and the dialog are also nice and compact, not wasting any unnecessary moments yet without sacrificing anything essential. Denzel Washington did a good job here, and I think he would've been very much honored to have played his role here. Having Unger, Hannah and Schreiber here is also quite a nice work considering that this movie is one of their first big works.