Written by Charlie Wachtel, David Rabinowitz, Kevin Willmott & Spike Lee.
Directed by Spike Lee.
★★★★
Along comes Spike Lee with his most vibrant film since Inside Man. He's taken a true story, gave it some sizzle, and it results in one of his funniest movies to date, while also still able to deliver a knock-out punch at the end.
Denzel's son John David Washington plays Ron Stallworth, a rookie cop in 1970's Colorado who just wants to make a difference. He gets himself into undercover work, at first to follow the radical Stokely Carmichael (Corey Hawkins), see if he's riling up black folks too much. But if he's going to check on black radicals, why not check on white radicals? He puts in a call to the local KKK chapter, and he's instantly in.
Since Stallworth has to eventually meet them in person, he enlists his partner Flip Zimmerman (Adam Driver) to play him. On the phone, it's Washington. In person, it's Driver.
Lee isn't subtle about drawing parallels between white supremacists then and now. About every 20 minutes, David Duke (Topher Grace) or one of the other Klansman says a line that could have been lifted from a Donald Trump rally. And yet it's earned by the way the movie ends.
Washington gives a solid performance with his first real leading role. Grace is terrificly slimy as Duke. He can be the nicest guy until race comes up, and he maintains that same pleasant veneer while saying the most vile things. The stand-out for me is Driver. He's so natural in the role, and when I look at his work in Silence, Logan Lucky, and The Last Jedi, I'm convinced he can do whatever's asked of him. He'll eventually win an Oscar.
(P.S. Lee does take some liberties with the true story. That didn't subtract from my enjoyment, but I'm glad I didn't read about them until I'd seen the movie first.)
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