Average Rating: 7/10
Reviews Counted: 131
Fresh: 103 | Rotten: 28
A wonderful cast and top-notch script elevate The Great Debaters beyond a familiar formula for a touching, uplifting drama.
Average Rating: 7.1/10
Critic Reviews: 37
Fresh: 30 | Rotten: 7
A wonderful cast and top-notch script elevate The Great Debaters beyond a familiar formula for a touching, uplifting drama.
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Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 114,425
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Drawing inspiration from the true story of a temperamental debate coach who molded the students of a small East Texas college into a formidable team that gave even Harvard's elite squad a run for their money, Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters features the director himself as the ambitious educator, and Forest Whitaker as the resentful father of a student whose loyalties now lie almost exclusively with his coach. Melvin B. Tolson (Washington) is the kind of educator who truly recognizes the
Dec 25, 2007 Wide
May 13, 2008
$30.0M
MGM
All Critics (138) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (106) | Rotten (28) | DVD (12)
As for Mr. Parker and Ms. Smollett, there's no debating what awaits them -- stardom, very soon.
The Great Debaters succeeds in bringing a lump to the throat without, as is de rigueur these days, insulting our intelligence.
The film may be manipulative in its construction, and cliché-ridden in some of the incidents it recounts, but it has a good, large heart.
...The Great Debaters soars with words and feeling.
It's important, it's deeply inspiring, it's something from our not-so-distant past we must not forget, and it should be must-see viewing for high school and college students of all backgrounds.
A rouser, a stunner, almost a jubilee of emotion and suspense by the old standards of Hollywood melodrama, circa the time the actual events themselves took place.
Washington directed as well as starred, and it is clear he has no trouble wearing both hats at once
This is a wonderfully acted and directed movie, that has something important to say
Inspiring true story confronts racism head-on.
I was having mediocre day and I walked out of the movie totally pumped up and ready for the rest of the day, even though it was 10pm at night.
All of the fibs aside, there is still much to recommend here.
There's a real organic sense in the film of how young minds can be nurtured and energized way beyond sex, sports and slacker attitude, into caring and evolving kid works-in-progress. And how debating can be pretty cool too, who knew?
There's a real organic sense in the film of how young minds can be nurtured and energized way beyond sex, sports and slacker attitude, into caring and evolving kid works-in-progress. And how debating can be pretty cool too, who knew?
The acting is great and care is taken to develop these characters into people we can root for.
Enough fictional liberties were taken with The Great Debaters to make it fit neatly on the inspirational genre shelf, but it's grounded in enough reality to excuse Eisle's we-shall-overcome contrivances
an amazing film without question. let me start with my disclaimer, denzel admitted to knowingly and willfully changing major facts in this story for the purpose of manufacturing extra "inspiration". I am strongly against this practice in films based on true stories. if the story is worth telling, tell it the way it
December 21, 2007
Super Reviewer
When it comes to the racial issues touched upon in this film, we only skim the surface, but when it comes to the art of debating, this film is more than a regular formula drama of similar subject matter. It's engrossing, well-written, inspiring, and powerfully acted all round. I would expect nothing less than stardom
November 8, 2011Super Reviewer
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