<p>Will Smith perhaps irreversibly damaged his reputation when he decided to answer comedian Chris Rock's words with a blow during the Oscars ceremony earlier this year. That smack will likely reverberate through the actor's entire career. One can — and should —admire his utter commitment to his role in Antoine Fuqua's<strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/hollywood/news-emancipation-reviews-will-smiths-first-film-after-oscar-slap-garners-mixed-reception-539657"> 'Emancipation'</a></strong>, a film that purports to be a slavery drama but ends up feeling like a period-action film. But being a part of this neo-Blaxploitation film will not exactly do wonders for Smith's already shaky reputation.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Preceding the release, the actor had requested while speaking on several talk shows that the film should not be unfairly judged by his actions, and that several other people worked hard to make the movie. It was admirable, I thought. But even if the ghost of the slap did not hover over the film, it would still fail to pass muster. It is not a bad movie, mind you. There is enough emotion and pathos, I suspect,&nbsp;in Smith's performance alone to sell the movie to his fans. But Fuqua for some reason decided to direct it like an action-thriller, and yet in his heart wanted it to look and feel like a slavery drama. The result is a film without any identity, and it does not quite work as either.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wafyhTpWpUs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>'Emancipation' is inspired by the life of one remarkable Peter, also known as Whipped Peter. An escaped slave who fled a plantation in Louisiana after hearing of Abraham Lincoln's emancipation proclamation and joined the Union Army to take on the Confederates. While not much is known about the man himself, an image of his back scarred with whip marks has survived, which was widely circulated by abolitionists.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Played by Smith, Peter's story in the film begins with him quoting the Bible to his wife and children, and saying at one point "God loves you." This is a recurring theme here, as Peter argues with other, less devout slaves over the existence of a benevolent, all-powerful deity watching over the world. Yes, he insists, He exists. He says that even as he suffers insults and whips from slavers, who incidentally invent Biblical verses to justify to the slaves the torment they inflict. Indeed, God works in mysterious ways. The Biblical theme does feel out of place here. Maybe this is the non-believer in me speaking, it would have been more compelling to make Peter a cynic after all the horrors he has witnessed.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hGoNxmTDsJs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>In the first act, everything you would expect from a slave drama is here. Slavers liberally use the N-word, describe slaves in simian terms, keep them up tightly packed in cages like poultry, and of course how they are above the darker-skinned humans in the divine hierarchy. Nothing here is historically inaccurate, and it all happened. Humans have been horrible to each other almost throughout recorded history, and the slave trade is one of the most reprehensible and shameful things to ever happen. But 'Emancipation' often borders on gratuity. Slavery porn, I feel, is the term I am looking for.</p>

<p>A coherent film based on Whipped Peter's story could have been inspiring and rich with drama, but 'Emancipation' watches like a film that a hypothetical machine would churn out if it was instructed to manufacture the perfect Oscar bait. It is as though Smith kept the film as a second alternative to score an Oscar nomination if 'King Richard' did not succeed. It has that "prestige" look and often seems appears to be a bad parody of one of HBO's crime dramas. Visually, the film is nearly but not exactly black-and-white, another choice probably to give the film a pretentious aesthetic but that does not justify its presence.&nbsp;</p>

<p>'Emancipation' is neither pacey nor interesting enough to be a good action movie, it does have anything new to say about the nature of slavery and, well, emancipation, to be a good slave drama.</p>

<p>&lt;<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>


Will Smith perhaps irreversibly damaged his reputation when he decided to answer comedian Chris Rock's words with a blow during the Oscars ceremony earlier this year.

Will Smith perhaps irreversibly damaged his reputation when he decided to answer comedian Chris Rock's words with a blow during the Oscars ceremony earlier this year. That smack will likely reverberate through the actor's entire career. One can — and should —admire his utter commitment to his role in Antoine Fuqua's 'Emancipation', a film that purports to be a slavery drama but ends up feeling like a period-action film. But being a part of this neo-Blaxploitation film will not exactly do wonders for Smith's already shaky reputation. Preceding the release, the actor had requested while speaking on several talk shows that the film should not be unfairly judged by his actions, and that several other people worked hard to make the movie. It was admirable, I thought. But even if the ghost of the slap did not hover over the film, it would still fail to pass muster. It is not a bad movie, mind you. There is enough emotion and pathos, I suspect, in Smith's performance alone to sell the movie to his fans. But Fuqua for some reason decided to direct it like an action-thriller, and yet in his heart wanted it to look and feel like a slavery drama. The result is a film without any identity, and it does not quite work as either. 'Emancipation' is inspired by the life of one remarkable Peter, also known as Whipped Peter. An escaped slave who fled a plantation in Louisiana after hearing of Abraham Lincoln's emancipation proclamation and joined the Union Army to take on the Confederates. While not much is known about the man himself, an image of his back scarred with whip marks has survived, which was widely circulated by abolitionists. Played by Smith, Peter's story in the film begins with him quoting the Bible to his wife and children, and saying at one point "God loves you." This is a recurring theme here, as Peter argues with other, less devout slaves over the existence of a benevolent, all-powerful deity watching over the world. Yes, he insists, He exists. He says that even as he suffers insults and whips from slavers, who incidentally invent Biblical verses to justify to the slaves the torment they inflict. Indeed, God works in mysterious ways. The Biblical theme does feel out of place here. Maybe this is the non-believer in me speaking, it would have been more compelling to make Peter a cynic after all the horrors he has witnessed. In the first act, everything you would expect from a slave drama is here. Slavers liberally use the N-word, describe slaves in simian terms, keep them up tightly packed in cages like poultry, and of course how they are above the darker-skinned humans in the divine hierarchy. Nothing here is historically inaccurate, and it all happened. Humans have been horrible to each other almost throughout recorded history, and the slave trade is one of the most reprehensible and shameful things to ever happen. But 'Emancipation' often borders on gratuity. Slavery porn, I feel, is the term I am looking for. A coherent film based on Whipped Peter's story could have been inspiring and rich with drama, but 'Emancipation' watches like a film that a hypothetical machine would churn out if it was instructed to manufacture the perfect Oscar bait. It is as though Smith kept the film as a second alternative to score an Oscar nomination if 'King Richard' did not succeed. It has that "prestige" look and often seems appears to be a bad parody of one of HBO's crime dramas. Visually, the film is nearly but not exactly black-and-white, another choice probably to give the film a pretentious aesthetic but that does not justify its presence. 'Emancipation' is neither pacey nor interesting enough to be a good action movie, it does have anything new to say about the nature of slavery and, well, emancipation, to be a good slave drama. <

'Emancipation' movie review: Self-important and ponderous, Will Smith's Oscar bait is dead on arrival

<p><strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/entertainment/will-smith-and-wife-jada-pinkett-make-first-red-carpet-appearance-after-oscar-slap-539067">Will Smith</a></strong>'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."</p>

<p>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.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wafyhTpWpUs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p>

<p>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.</p>

<p>“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.</p>

<p>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'.</p>

<p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe></p>


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.

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. 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'.

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

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'Emancipation' movie review: Self-important and ponderous, Will Smith's Oscar bait is dead on arrival

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