Hurricane
Sometimes it can be hard to review a movie such as this 1999 release, a film that is acted and made well enough in the service of a basically dishonest, one-sided screenplay that has since been proven to be rife with factual inaccuracies about the real life story at hand. Denzel Washington stars as Rubin āHurricaneā Carter, a top boxing contender who in 1966 was convicted of multiple murder and sentenced to life in prison, where he wrote a book proclaiming his innocence that was published. This led to a series of protests and demonstrations by various celebrities of the day (including the famous Bob Dylan song) that accomplished nothing and then faded when its trendy hip appeal died down, only to be revived in the 80s when a teenage boy and a group of Canadian activists diligently worked to produce evidence that resulted in his conviction being thrown out (but NOT an acquittal) due to racial discrimination that apparently was widespread in the state of New Jersey at the time of his trial. The fascinating thing to this day is that while Hurricane is routinely cited as someone who was railroaded by the legal system, there remains a large group of people who DO feel he was guilty, citing several facts about the case that the movie conveniently ignored (like the fact that the murder weapon was found in his car and that Hurricane was hidden in the back seat under a pile of jackets when the car was pulled over), basically saying that Hurricane was an earlier incarnation of O.J. who used his fame (and his race) to be released from prison. Whether there is any credence or not to these claims of guilt is left to the viewer to decide, as it would seem that the entire Jersey legal system was in cahoots against the man (so much so that the state appealed all the way to the Supreme Court in order to have Carter RETURNED to prison), but the movie boils it all down in the form of a composited character of one racist cop (Dan Hedaya), with an apparently inexplicable lifelong grudge against Hurricane from when he was a little kid. Whatever the case may be, Washington does bring dignity and nobility to the performance, even as director Norman Jewison establishes a clear story pattern: Give Denzel a powerful acting scene, then show a flurry of activity by other characters (such as the activists) or maybe a montage, before going back to another big acting scene by Denzel, repeated over and over. He is certainly supported by a lineup of able pros in supporting parts, including John (Idiot Brother In Law From The Mummy) Hannah, Liev Schreiber, and (the very hot) Deborah Kara Unger as the activists; Clancy Brown in a role that deserved more screentime as the humane guard at the prison who treated Hurricane well; David Paymer and the always-great Harris Yulin as his defense lawyers; Badja Djola as his grizzled fellow inmate; and most certainly Rod Steiger as the judge who hears the reopened case and gets to be the big hero in the end. The exception is Vicellous Shannon as the teenager who pushes the others to take on the case and who idolizes Hurricane after reading his book: Wooden and one-note in his acting, his deficiencies truly come to light in his scenes opposite Denzel, which forces Washington to basically carry their scenes together with his acting. The fact that the movie works in several respects and is compelling can be offset by bits such as one that shows Hurricane pounding a white boxer to a pulp and then losing on the scorecards due to āracismā, which led to a lawsuit by the white boxer against the filmmakers in which he was awarded millions as he (along with the referee and several who were in attendance at the real fight) proved that it was Hurricane that took the beating and lost the fight fairly (which led to a disclaimer put at the BEGINNING of the film saying certain things were fictionalized, a rarity). Overall, a good, involving film on its own terms, but one for which the viewer should do some research afterwards to make up their own mindsā¦
7/10