'Emancipation' reviews: Will Smith's first film after Oscar slap garners mixed reception

Will Smith's first film release after the infamous Oscar slap incident earlier this year, titled 'Emancipation' has received mixed critical reception thus far. An Antoine Fuqua directorial, 'Emancipation' is a historical action film based on a true story. It has scored a rating of 53 per cent on the popular review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus reads, "Emancipation works as an action movie -- albeit one that's uncomfortably at odds with its awkward handling of the real-life events that inspired its stirring story."

In 'Emancipation', Smith plays the role of an ex-slave who escapes his captors. The film has Peter, Smith's character, evading pursuers to reach North and joining the Union Army, the force that vanquished the slavery-supporting Confederate States Army. The film, penned by William N. Collage, is based on a fascinating real story of Gordon or 'Whipped Slave'. The image of his back, marked with scars of whipping, was one of the most remarkable images from the Civil War era.

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Earlier, Smith had said that he understands if people are not ready to watch him on the big screen again so soon after the slap, but he expressed concerns about the team behind the film.

“I completely understand that, if someone is not ready. I would absolutely respect that and allow them their space to not be ready. My deepest concern is my team. Antoine has done what I think is the greatest work in his entire career … the people on this team have done some of the best work of their entire careers, and my deepest hope is that my actions don’t penalize my team," Smith told Fox 5.

On March 27, during the Academy Awards ceremony, Will Smith did not like a joke made by presenter Chris Rock at his wife Jada Pinkett Smith's expense. He walked up to the stage and whacked Chris Rock across the face in response. The act created an uproar that ultimately led the Academy to ban Smith for 10 years from Oscars or related events. Later in the ceremony, amazingly, Smith went on to win his first Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the sports drama 'King Richard'.