"Birth Of A Nation" Review- 12 Months of Hype

“Birth of a Nation” is a pretty great piece of work. It’s almost perfect, but even if it got to perfect, it’s still hard to compare with “12 Years a Slave” a few years ago for a few reasons.

For starters, there are some pretty ridiculous shots that happen in the movie. Not because the cinematography sucks, but because there are some really beautiful shots that serve no purpose at all. Like there’s one beautifully lit shot of two people looking at each other and another of a guy looking out at a flower field. Both look terrific but serve no purpose whatsoever other than eye candy. And that (SPOILER ALERT) solar eclipse I just laughed ass off because it was so unnecessary. LOL!

The real problem though is the character development. The only person that truly gets a dynamite grade in showing the power of a character is Nat Turner. Everyone else is either lightly touched upon or just pushed aside. This results in the story overall not having as much power as it should, and even making some plot points seem a bit silly.

The music, the settings, the cinematography, and the actors all are a knock out, but the real amazing moments don’t come until the last 20 minutes of the film. Until then, it’s a bit boring and kind of hard to take seriously even at points. So in the end, it’s still a great film, but it really could’ve been better in the end if Nate Parker hadn’t been so focused on himself. That is why I’m giving this film a rare 1.5 Nebs Up.

I don’t really care about Nate Parker’s past. I do condemn rape, but I also refuse to attack an entire film based on one person’s actions. Birth Of A Nation could be his only film ever made whether he committed rape or not, but if this really is his last film, then Nate Parker is a one hit wonder for movies, whether you like it or not.

1.5 Nebs Up!