88

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.

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.

Clever and brilliantly written. I appreciate the boldness of the filmaker. The ideas presented in the film will certainly be controversial to some. The topic of Race is explored in a different way than most films that touch on it. Less trauma and more resiliance. Most importantly, this political thriller is entertaining and will leave you thinking about it longer after seeing it.

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.

88 is a thought-provoking film with a phenomenal and diverse cast. At the beginning of the film, I was a little lost with the political conversations, but then there was a great animated sequence explaining Super PACs and the roles non-profits play. It was pretty informative (to me). The plot is a deep dive into American politics and associated conspiracy theories. It's quite a rabbit hole; truly crazy, mind-blowing, and frightening stuff that is unearthed by the protagonist. I believe one of the main goals of 88 is to encourage conversation about complex topics, especially given how the movie ends. (No Spoilers) Also, whether you're into politics or not, I recommend this film because, with politics aside, it's also a story about values and family.