88

An entertaining political thriller on the surface and an examination of racism and its many facets and disturbing history underneath. A rather unique and ambitious film with great performances that stays with you long after it ends. Highly recommended.

Political drama "88" aims to be more eye-opening than the likes of "Irresistible" or "The Ghost Writer" - lofty & noble ambition, that it totally fails to meet as its plodding on-the-nose 2hr+ screenplay is poorly delivered by a virtually unknown cast (William Fichtner a minor exception). Super-PAC finance chief Brandon Victor Dixon discovers that 75% of funding for black presidential candidate Orlando Jones comes anonymously from white supremacist sources. Cue questions on 'Who' & 'How' (tho infuriatingly no-one asks 'Why' (to save the 'punchline' til the end - sigh)). Writer / director Eromose may have an important message to relay... but this ain't how to relay it.

These reviews are hilarious. They've been written by spammers and bots. Each review is vague and meaningless. One reviewer wrote the following; "The director's debut features Idris Elba, before he became a planet". Someone was obviously paid to write a review in their native language and google translate was utilized to provide an English translation. We know people do this all the time. Idris Elba does not STAR in this film nor is he affiliated with this product. 88's review section is a perfect of the content you will find in this film. It is an incoherent mess with a ludicrous plot and immensely deceptive messaging. Orlando Jones couldn't save this. Every plot point was so basic and predictable. The biggest problem with this movie is that it's fantasy. It would have worked better as a "Twilight Zone"/"Black Mirror" episode.

The film looks and feels like it could have been good. But, alas, it is not. It trots out all these conspiracies and endeavors to link them together. Some scenes are downright amateur. The politician being interviewed by the journalist, ugh. And, that whole narrative and journalist interview segment should have been cut. Now, for the most part, the acting is good. I thought Orlando Jones was great. We need to see more of him. And, Orlando demonstrates he can be effective in various genres. The writer/director should have had some supervision. Or, perhaps wear less hats on his/her next project. Brandon Victor Dixon as the main protagonist does a fine job.

I don't give 10s and rarely give 9s, so this is an A grade.

This movie kept me on the edge of my seat. A political thriller that does not follow conventional story-telling patterns. The filmmaker kept me guessing throughout.

A Tribeca gem, this piece holds a mirror to the flawed political system without removing the filmmaker's neutrality, this allowing the audience to ponder the implications of the plot twists without bias.

There are genuine tense moments that build suspense and anticipation. In the vein of whodunits but without campy humor or over the top tropes.

The ending does not leave me any room for character empathy or a feeling of finality to the journey. It only left me saying, "where do we go from here?"