In late 2007, the great Denzel Washington decided to not only star in, but direct a film about the first all-black college debate team.  I was personally intrigued by this film for two reasons: first, I myself had been on the speech and debate team in high school, so I was interested after seeing the first trailer.  Second, Denzel had previously directed Antwone Fisher, a tremendous film about a young military man dealing with the pitfalls of race and discrimination.  With the anticipation growing, I anxiously tossed in the first disc of the collector’s edition and hoped for the best.

From the beginning of this film, the similarities between this and Denzel’s previous directorial effort began to show.  Debaters didn’t contain the violence or underlying sexual rape themes prevalent in Fisher, but it obviously focused on the issue of race.  Before watching the film, it should also be noted that Oprah Winfrey produced this project- surely, racism in America would be a hot topic in the overall plot summary.  That being said, this movie actually delivered on several fronts.

The basic premise of the film is very simple.  In 1935, Melvin Tolson (played to perfection by Washington), a professor at Wiley College Texas convinces several students to form the schools first debate team.  Now being an all-black team, they were sure to face controversy and racism.  Based on true events, Washington effort to illustrate the pitfalls faced by the team was done expertly.  In a recent interview Washington himself confessed that he was more interested in directing than acting now- if this film is any indication of what we will see in the future, you can count me in.

Throughout the film, we see how the team rose from the unknown into a nationwide powerhouse.  Ultimately, the team has admirations of facing off against renowned, white colleges in an effort to prove not only their intelligence, but their perseverance as well.  The goal of Tolson throughout the film is for his team to reach the elite ranks of debate and challenge first-ranked Harvard on the national stage.  Upon some research, this falters a little from the actual story of Wiley College- in 1935, the debate was actually against USC, but only sticklers for detail would care about such a minute fact.  Regardless, the Wiley team would go on a tear throughout the nation, dominating smaller all-black colleges on their way to an impressive ALMOST blemish free record.  After one of the team’s captains is told he must leave the team, a backup debater, overcome by his nerves, gets destroyed  by the opposition, giving Wiley their first and only defeat.  Though it lowered the spirits of both the team and the town, Tolson would not be denied in his goal of reaching the top. He continuously mailed newspaper excerpts about his team’s performance to the elite schools around the nation, praying that one would answer his challenge.  Since this is a movie, let’s assume that you already know Harvard did.

It should be noted that almost every actor in this film was making their big-budget feature debut.  With the exception of Denzel Washington and the always stellar Forrest Whitaker, this film will surely launch the careers of several young actors.  The debate team (played by Nate Parker, Denzel Whitaker, and Jurnee Smollett) actually illustrated fear, intensity, and ambition to very believable levels.  I was impressed with the acting from everyone in this film, and it seemed that the events really had an effect on each actor.  Some people will not be instantly attracted to this films plot or premise, but the superb acting will help even the most skeptical believe in the team.

Of course, the Hollywood happy ending applies to this movie, and although it is based on true events, I personally hoped that the team would have faced some tougher opposition in the debate room.  Although the film was written pretty well and the acting was as technical as it gets, I felt that something was missing- I just can’t quite put my finger on it.  It may be the simple fact that so many movies about race have surfaced in the past ten years, or it could just be that the story seems a little too much like a fantasy.  This fact alone should not deter anyone from seeing the movie, but I just wanted to point that out.

The 2-disc collector’s edition contained a slew of special features including commentary, music videos, interviews and the like.  Overall, they were pretty good, but unless you like watching music videos or the creation of the set to resemble 1935 Texas, you won’t be blown away.  It was interesting to hear Denzel talk about the effect this story had on him, as he actually donated $1 million of his own money to restart the Wiley College debate team.  Though the special features don’t make this version of the film a must buy, they certainly improve on the skimpy features that standard edition DVD’s usually have.

Overall, I must say that the film was enjoyable.  It didn’t touch me the way that I hoped it would, but it was still done very well.  If you are fan of Denzel Washington or debate you will certainly not want to miss this movie.  I recommend it to most viewers, as it has a little bit of something for most- love, hate, controversy, drama, etc.  The race issue is not overdone by any means, but it is certainly the focal point of the movie.  The debate sequences are interesting and informative to watch, as you feel like you are watching young lawyers in action. I am anxious to see what Washington next directorial effort will entails as this film proves that he is simply amazing behind the camera as well as front of it. 

Film: 8.0

Special Features: 8.0

Overall Score: 8.0