Judas and the Black Messiah

Summary

“A badge is scarier than a gun.”

In 2021, I decided to take my children to the Lorraine Motel in Memphis to visit the Civil Rights Museum and pay my respects to Martin Luther King Jr. It was a great experience for the whole family as we walked through the difficult history that shaped our country and created many of the issues that our country still faces. After shedding some tears at the spot where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, we made our way out of the museum. When we returned to Little Rock, the film Judas and the Black Messiah was playing on HBO MAX. I was excited to see the history of black panther Fred Hampton, because my knowledge of Hampton was severely limited. I watched the film that evening while the experience in Memphis was fresh on my mind. Warner Bros. gave the film a good Blu-ray release in 2021, but that release was somewhat disappointing for fans of the picture because the Dolby Atmos track was not featured and it was just so obvious how much better the film would look on 4K. Warner has given the picture a 4K release with Dolby Atmos sound, which should make this the definitive release of the film.

In 1968, nineteen year old William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) walks into a pool hall wearing a trench coat. He holds up a badge that shows himself to be an FBI agent. He frisks a man and takes his car keys. After attempting to steal the man’s car, with the pool hall members chasing after him, he is arrested. While in jail, Bill is approached by FBI Special Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons.) Mitchell is willing to have the charges dropped against Bill, if Bill is willing to work undercover. Begrudgingly agreeing to the job, Bill is assigned to infiltrate the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party led by the enigmatic Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya.) This is all part of J. Edgar Hoover’s (Martin Sheen) crusade to crush the Black Panther movement and other groups he deemed socialist by any means necessary. Bill manages to prove himself and join the party, putting himself immediately in danger from the more militant members of the group that carried firearms. Bill finds himself growing closer to Fred. Their friendship develops while Bill continues to feed back information to his handler. As Fred unites rival gangs and militias in the city behind a common purpose, Fred also falls in love with a female poet named Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback.) Bill continues to rise in the ranks of the party, all while carrying out secret orders that eventually lead to the ultimate betrayal and tragic fate for Fred Hampton.

Judas and the Black Messiah is an extraordinary piece of filmmaking. It’s incendiary and completely compelling. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, while also realizing with each passing frame of the film that it certainly has an agenda. For myself, the Civil Rights icons that I gravitate towards the most were men like Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali for their ability to show strength without invoking violence. While Malcolm X fascinates me a tremendous amount and Fred Hampton was incredibly interesting, as I get older I don’t think the rhetoric of change should always be a rhetoric that promotes (or tolerates) a mindset of violent resistance. That said, after seeing the way in which the government systematically eliminated Fred Hampton, I can understand why it would feel like violence could be an inherent way of resisting the brutalities that were occurring. I think that watching the film, I had to slightly dissociate from my own beliefs in order to try to fully understand Fred Hampton’s story. Hampton was an enigmatic and thoughtful speaker and a leader of men. It comes across that many of the things he wanted to do were good things. For example, his ability to organize a program which offered health care and fed poor children in his community breakfast is truly admirable. I admire his determination to stop the brutality and racism that afflicted himself and his fellow man. At the end of the day, my thoughts on these issues are inconsequential to the film itself, which I found to be brilliantly done.

The film is well shot by cinematographer Sean Bobbitt. Bobbitt is well known for his work with director Steve McQueen, and he does a beautiful job on the film. For my money, it was probably the best looking film released in 2021. It is a little strange that a film nominated for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, two Best Supporting Actor nominations (more on that in a moment,) and Best Screenplay did not also receive a Best Director knod. Unless I am mistaken, the director works with the cinematographer and actors to create the film as it is seen by the audience. I think the Academy really missed the mark by failing to nominate Shaka King for his work here. I look forward to seeing what projects he tackles in the future. The film benefits from a well thought out soundtrack with a score by Mark Isham and Craig Harris that only is employed to maximum effect, helping to build dread as the film’s intensity escalates.

LaKeith Stanfield is a very talented actor that I have enjoyed watching in roles since I first saw him in the show Atlanta. He has never been better than he is in the role of William O’Neal. LaKeith brings the misery to the forefront of the pathos of O’Neal, by making the anxiety of the situation play out on his face and in his eyes. The Academy idiotically nominated LaKeith for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar, despite the fact that he was the main character in the film and should have been nominated in the Best Actor category. His response on Twitter was hilarious where he replied “I’m confused too but fuck it lmao.” Daniel Kaluuya turned in a career best performance as Fred Hampton and deservedly won the Oscar. He is great in the role and does an admirable job of highlighting the softer side the Black Panther leader. Jesse Plemons is reliably good in everything, and he turns in another enjoyable performance here. The only performance that felt a little overdone in the film was that of Martin Sheen as Hoover, which came across a little too heavily as a caricature, but that is nitpicking considering how great everyone else is in the picture.

The script of the film by Shaka King and Will Berson (based on a story by Kenneth and Keith Lucas) is very well written and manages to condense down a series of historical events accurately into a blistering indictment of what happened to Fred Hampton. The finale is honestly tough to watch and abysmally sad – which is the point. The point of the story is fairly simple – if the government wants you, they can have you. It’s a history lesson that has played out numerous times and should not be looked at through rose colored glasses. The film’s script does not have an ounce of fat on it, with each scene being included for a good reason.

Overall – aside from a few moments that struck me as overreaching or felt a little like propagandizing, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Judas and the Black Messiah. It was one of the best films from 2021, and is looking like one of the best films of the decade in 2025. I look forward to when my oldest son is a little bit older so that we can watch this movie together and have a great discussion.

Video

Judas and the Black Messiah has been brought to 4K UHD by Warner Bros. with their typically excellent attention to detail. The film was shot on a 4K digital intermediate using widescreen anamorphic lenses in an aspect ratio of 2.39:1. This is an exceptional presentation of the film. Fine detail is excellent and there are no compression artifacts that stood out. The film was shot by cinematographer Sean Bobbitt and it ranks as the best cinematography of 2021. The 4K is a tremendous improvement over the very attractive Blu-ray from a few years back. The biggest areas off improvement are in contrast and colors. Then picture is extremely detailed and the HDR makes the colors achieve much more depth. This is a case where the upgrade was worth the wait. It is perfect.

Audio

Warner Bros. has provided the film’s original Dolby Atmos track, which was strangely downgraded on the Blu-ray release to a DTS-HD MA 5.1 track. The Atmos track sounds great. The music in the film comes across forcefully when present and the surrounds are engaged fairly often. It is nice to have the original intended track on disc.

Supplements:

• Fred Hampton for the People – director Shaka King, producer Ryan Coogler, co-writers Kenny and Keith Lucas, and actors Lakeith Stanfield, Daniel Kaluuya, Jesse Plemons, and Dominique Fishback lend their thoughts on the legacy of Fred Hampton. Also featured in the interviews is Fred’s son.
• Unexpected Betrayal – this piece focuses more on William O. Neal and the betrayal he enacted.

Overall Scores:

Video -5/5

Audio – 4.75/5

Supplements – 2/5

Overall – 4.75/5

Judas and the Black Messiah is an exceptionally well done film. The script is tightly written and does a great job of telling the sad tale of Fred Hampton’s demise and the betrayal that caused it. LaKeith Stanfield and Daniel Kaluuya both turn in tremendous performances. This was easily one of the best films released after the pandemic began, and was a highlight of 2021. In the years since, it has proven to be one of the best dramatic films of the decade, despite some of my reservations on how the film occasionally pushes its agenda a little too hard. I think that fans of pictures such as Malcolm X by Spike Lee will find the film as effective as it is heartbreaking. Warner Bros. have given the film a definitive 4K UHD release which offers a significant upgrade visually and provides the original Atmos track for the picture. I strongly encourage you to check out the film and the new 4K from Warner Bros earns our highest recommendation.