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Movies / On DVD / Light It Up
Light It Up

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Light It Up (1999)

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39 %
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Reviews Counted:46

Fresh:18

Rotten:28

Average Rating:5/10

Consensus: Soon into the student uprising, the story starts to feel like a warmed over after-school special.

Runtime: 1 hr 39 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: The topical story of a group of high school students who form a protest when they become fed up with their school's poor conditions. After a shot is accidentally fired and a police officer is... The topical story of a group of high school students who form a protest when they become fed up with their school's poor conditions. After a shot is accidentally fired and a police officer is wounded, the resulting stand-off results in a media frenzy that pits the dirt-digging media against the well-intentioned students. Bolotin's script impressively ignores the racial stereotyping that other films in this genre tend to wear like bad costumes, and the assembled cast of young faces keeps the film engaging throughout. [More]

Starring: Usher Raymond, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Williams

Starring: Usher Raymond, Forest Whitaker, Rosario Dawson, Vanessa Williams, Marcello Robinson, Sara Gilbert, Robert Ri'chard, Clifton Collins, Judd Nelson, Fredro Starr

Director: Craig Bolotin

Director: Craig Bolotin
Screenwriter: Craig Bolotin
Producer: Tracey E. Edmonds, Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams

[See More Credits]

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Release:

May 2, 2000

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Light It Up

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1 - 20 (sorted by fresh rating)
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Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Reel.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Reel.com

Crackling dialogue, surprising intelligence and an emotional wallop.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Andy Seiler
Andy Seiler
USA Today

Surprisingly effective.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

"The Breakfast Club" in the Ghetto

comment Comment
09/19/02
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

A fairly thoughtful look at the dangers of stereotyping and closed-minded thinking.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

Light It Up challenges the bureaucratic structure that condemns many children to an educational purgatory.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Vanessa Williams adds marquee value as a police negotiator.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Strong acting, tense plot.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Millar
Jeff Millar
Houston Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Decent, but hardly original, the film has enough moments and decent performances to keep things interesting.

Full Review Source: Screen It! | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jim Judy
Jim Judy
Screen It!

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
05/20/03
Kate Manning
Kate Manning
Palo Alto Weekly

A deluge of movies is set to be released in the next three weeks. One that should not be lost in the flood is Light It Up.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The protagonists of Light It Up seem strangely tender and vulnerable, and the movie does a remarkable job of making their plight moving.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

Light It Up benefits from affecting performances from a gifted cast headed by R&B heartthrob Usher Raymond.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rita Kempley
Rita Kempley
Washington Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: SPLICEDWire | comment Comment
01/01/00
Rob Blackwelder
Rob Blackwelder
SPLICEDWire

Writer-director Craig Bolotin dares what few filmmakers have when dealing with such volatile subject matter; he takes the teens' side.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Terry Lawson
Terry Lawson
Detroit Free Press
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nelson, Whitaker and their talented, young co-stars give this film most of whatever juice it has.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Tom Keogh
Tom Keogh
Film.com
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It has moments of effectiveness, some of the performances are moving, and the power-producer couple of Tracey E. Edmonds and Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds obviously have only the best of community-minded, non-exploitative intentions.

Full Review Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer | comment Comment
01/01/00
William Arnold
William Arnold
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Five minutes into this formulaic flick, you'll think you collaborated on the screenplay.

Full Review Source: E! Online | comment Comment
01/01/00
E! Online

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/22/02
Globe and Mail
 
 
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