Fear of the Black Panther

Shaka King's "Judas and the Black Messiah" is a force to be reckoned with, galvanized by electric performances from Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield as it figureheads

History has a way of repeating itself. When reflecting on movements centralized around change, there has always been a consortium in power ready to snuff it out. They're two sides of the same coin. The revolutionary rhetoric may vary, but there has always been opposition. This is especially the case when it comes to ceasing oppression or calls for equality. The greatest orators and truth-tellers at the forefront of such crusades have often lost their lives. The American Civil Rights movement is no different and Fred Hampton was one of those individuals. "Judas and the Black Messiah" recounts the tales of William O'Neal, an informant who infiltrated the Black Panther Party as part of the FBI's effort to destabilize the organization. The film has already garnered critical acclaim and award nominations (including Golden Globe and SAG nods for Kaluuya) and quite honestly, it's worthy of its praise.

Lakeith Stanfield portrays O'Neal, a crook who agrees to work with the FBI in order to reduce his own jail time. Painting the Panthers as a terrorist organization, agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons) informs O'Neal his mission is to get close to Fred Hampton (Kaluuya), a boisterously vocal leader they want to monitor. As intended, O'Neal becomes part of Hampton's inner circle and steadily funnels sensitive intel to Mitchell. As time passes, O'Neal discovers there's more at stake than originally perceived, as the Bureau plans to silence the Panthers at all costs. The film also stars Algee Smith, Ashton Sanders, Dominique Fishback, Dominique Thorne and Martin Sheen in a menacing turn as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover.

"Judas and the Black Messiah" is a timely film; recounting key events of a monumental struggle that wages on to this day. While Kaluuya's performance has commanded the media's attention, Stanfield carries a lot of the movie on his shoulders, as it's really his story. He sells O'Neal's internal struggle incredibly well, shifting from guilt-ridden paranoia to unflappable imposter at exactly the right moments. The entire cast is firing on all cylinders, including Fishback, despite her small amounts of screen time. However, the short periods she and Kaluuya share make it harder to buy into their chemistry and the same could be said for building emotional connections to other individuals that don't get more focus. Despite that, Shaka King's overall direction is wonderful, especially considering his comedic roots and sparse filmography. In fact, King, co-writer Will Berson and the Lucas Brothers (who originally pitched the story) all were based in comedy, yet managed to help craft a serious biographical drama befitting genre veterans. It has great cinematography, thanks to Sean Bobbitt, and never delivers its messages in a ham-fisted manner. Yes, it occasionally slips into the Hollywood-isms common for a story of this subject matter, but those moments are few and far in-between. Instead, it functions as a powerful voyeuristic snapshot of a freedom fighter whose life was criminally and dishonorably extinguished. It's necessary viewing. A-