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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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21 - 40 (sorted by date)
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Painfully obvious and cliched.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
01/01/00
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Philadelphia City Paper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
Philadelphia City Paper

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Apollo Guide | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dan Jardine
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide

A well-meaning, yet derivative, film of this sort is basically made or broken by the writing and portrayals of the characters, and both aspects are unsatisfactorily handled.

Full Review Source: DustinPutman.com | comment Comment
01/01/00
Dustin Putman
Dustin Putman
DustinPutman.com

Never gets beyond stereotypes.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eric Monder
Eric Monder
Film Journal International

Click to read the article

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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/01/00
Gary Dauphin
Gary Dauphin
Village Voice
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: eye WEEKLY | comment Comment
01/01/00
Gemma Files
Gemma Files
eye WEEKLY

Overblown story.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
01/01/00
George Meyer
George Meyer
Orlando Weekly

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

A sluggish, superficial mess.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

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!
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
01/01/00
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Radically dumb.

Full Review Source: Planet Sick-Boy | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jon Popick
Jon Popick
Planet Sick-Boy

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Lawrence Van Gelder
Lawrence Van Gelder
New York Times

The dialogue is ridiculous and condescending.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
01/01/00
Louis B. Hobson
Louis B. Hobson
Jam! Movies
 
 
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