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‘Critical Thinking’ Review: All the Right Moves

John Leguizamo directs and stars in this warmhearted drama about underprivileged teenagers who enter a national chess championship.

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By Jeannette Catsoulis

Whether championing math, poetry, or just how to be a decent human being , the inspirational teacher is as familiar to movie audiences as the class stoner. “Critical Thinking” does little to detach itself from genre cliché; yet this heartfelt drama about a rough-and-tumble group of high-schoolers who claw their way to a national chess tournament has a sweetness that softens its flaws.

Based on a true story and set in an underserved Miami neighborhood in 1998, the movie drops us into the boisterous classroom of Mr. Martinez (played by the director, John Leguizamo).

“Chess is the great equalizer,” he tells his multiethnic students, using the game to teach his critical thinking elective — with a side of racial history discouraged by his school board. The principal (Rachel Bay Jones) might treat his classroom like a dumping ground for miscreants, but Martinez, assisted by wigs and funny accents, explains complicated chess moves with a deftness that cuts through their indifference.

With goals as modest as the lives of its characters, “Critical Thinking” follows the predictable arc of the underdog drama as the chess team overcomes troubled home situations and other setbacks on the road to a Beverly Hills-set finale. Slow and straightforward, the movie knows that a chess match is hardly a barnburner; but its lively young performers and their eventual triumph are easy to warm to. Drugs and gangs might beckon — and immigration officers hover just outside the frame — but they’re no match for the values of sportsmanship and teamwork. And Mr. Martinez’s pep talks.

Critical Thinking Not rated. Running time: 1 hour 57 minutes. Watch through virtual cinemas, or rent or buy on iTunes , Google Play and other streaming platforms and pay TV operators.

‘Critical Thinking’ Review: John Leguizamo’s Inspirational High-School Chess Drama

The true story of the Miami Jackson High chess team — five brainy wizards from the inner city — is told in a rousing but conventional way.

By Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman

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“ Critical Thinking ” is one of those up-from-the-streets high-school competition movies where just mentioning the true story it’s based on kind of gives the game away. Set in 1998, it’s about the five chess wizards from Miami Jackson High who became the first inner-city chess team to win the National Championship. Boom! But, of course, it’s how they got there that matters, and even if this movie weren’t based on a true story, you’d know more or less know where it’s going. “Critical Thinking” has some appealing young actors, and it’s been directed, by John Leguizamo (who costars as the film’s tough-saint teacher), in a way that gives them the space to clown around and then get serious. It’s still, in the end, a bit of a connect-the-inspirational-dots movie, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be inspired.

Leguizamo plays Mario Martinez, who teaches an elective class in chess at Miami Jackson, where his students call him “Mr. T.” They’re a rowdy, bellicose, street-smart bunch, hard to control in class, so at first we think we’re seeing one of those movies, like “Stand and Deliver” or “To Sir, with Love,” about a captivatingly square gadfly instructor who shows a bunch of underprivileged kids how to transcend the expectations (or lack thereof) that have been thrust upon them.

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In a way, “Critical Thinking” is one of those movies, though with a crucial caveat: The basic training — the intellectual whipping into shape — has all happened before the drama even starts. Martinez, in his thankless underpaid plaid-shirts-off-the-rack way, is beloved by his students, and he has taught them well; they’re chess players who’ve got the game in their blood. (It’s the only thing that gets them to settle down .) Leguizamo, who spent a number of his early one-man stage shows sketching in (often quite brilliantly) the lives of young people from a similar background, knows how to create scenes that bubble with spontaneity. And he himself plays Martinez with an effusive, slightly weary middle-aged demeanor that’s touching, because what he nails is the unabashed corniness of certain great high-school teachers — their willingness to put on a show for their kids, to turn the life of the mind into energized nerd theater.

At one point, using the magnetic chess board at the front of the class, he plays out a chess match authored (and recorded) by Paul Morphy in 1858, and he makes it sound as exciting as something on Roblox. He employs silly accents (Southern, French, Austrian) and puts on wigs and fake beards to enact the game, and he draws the kids into it, challenging them in his geek-with-cool-slang way (“Why is it a wack move, Sedrick? Don’t just talk to me, man, show me!”).

It’s one of the only scenes where we actually witness the mechanics of chess, and while that’s always a challenge for a chess drama (there’s only so much it can lure the lay audience into the heady intricacies of the game), I wish the students’ connection with chess were less of a given, and a little less abstract. Watching “Critical Thinking,” you’d never even know that the art of chess is rooted in thinking several moves ahead. Yet Leguizamo stages the matches with percussive power, the kids pounding their time clocks even as their eyes burrow into the board like lasers.

Much of the film’s appeal lies in the way it revels in chess as a pure symbol of leveling the playing field of opportunity. As Mr. T explains, chess is “the great equalizer.” It doesn’t matter how rich or poor you are, what Ivy League college or prison you’re in: The elemental nature of the game shears away everything but intellectual ability. So in a drama like “Critical Thinking,” where five students (four Latinx and one African-American) bust out of a high school with limited resources to attend a series of tournaments, there’s a democracy-in-action, anyone-can-win-in-America spirit.

The actors are terrific; the roles, as written, less so. Leguizamo is working from a script, by Dito Montiel, that walks the line between lived-in experience and overboiled cliché. Sedrick is played by Corwin Tuggles, who has a great pensive face, and he lends conviction to the character’s struggles at home. But it still feels like a contrivance that his father (Michael Kenneth Williams), an angry curmudgeon who treats his son’s chess victories as if they were beneath contempt, is also…the guy who plays chess with him every day! The other pivotal character is the canny hothead Ito (Jorge Lendeborg Jr,.), who begins to moonlight as a drug dealer, and though it’s not that we don’t buy it, it plays out like one of those obligatory flirtation-with-delinquency subplots from the 1980s.

There’s also a newly arrived immigrant from Cuba who joins the class — a sleek prodigy named Marcel (Jeffrey Batista), who can play (and win) four simultaneous games with his eyes closed. Always good to have someone like that on your team! As likable an actor as Leguizamo is, “Critical Thinking” never generates the teacher/student face-off intensity that “Stand and Deliver” did. The issue of how the team members fund their trips, with Martinez having to win over a skeptical principal (Rachel Bay Jones), creates some tension along the sidelines, yet once these kids start to win their tournaments it seems like they can do no wrong. The picture is pleasant enough, but watching it you’re always one or two moves ahead.

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Reviewed online, Aug. 31, 2020. MPAA Rating: Not rated. Running time: 113 MIN.

• Production: A Vertical Entertainment release of a Chaplin/Berkowitz production, in association with NRSP, Cinema Veritas. Producers: Scott Rosenfelt, Jason Mandl. Executive producers: Harvey R. Chaplin, Carla Berkowitz, Emilio Estefan Jr.
• Crew: Director: John Leguizamo. Screenplay: Dito Montiel. Camera: Zach Zambone. Editor: Jamie Kirkpatrick. Music: Chris Hajian.
• With: John Leguizamo, Corwin Tuggles, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Will Hochman, Angel Curiel, Jeffrey Batista, Michael Kenneth Williams, Rachel Bay Jones, Zora Casebere.

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‘Critical Thinking’: Review

By Tim Grierson, Senior US Critic 2020-03-14T01:15:00+00:00

John Leguizamo’s directorial debut is the true story of an unlikely championship chess team

‘Critical Thinking’

Dir: John Leguizamo. US. 2019. 117mins

Chronicling the true story of an unlikely championship chess team, Critical Thinking has plenty of heart, which unfortunately can’t make up for its fairly uninspired design and predictable trajectory. Making his feature directorial debut, John Leguizamo (who also stars) digs into the cultural and political dimensions of the true story of an underfunded high school squad that, against all odds, bested players from more privileged communities. This inspirational sports drama has a worthy message — for many kids from difficult backgrounds, an education is crucial for escaping poverty — but viewers may ultimately prefer to have seen a documentary about the real-life participants rather than this earnest, conventional dramatisation.

Fashions itself as a classic underdog tale from the start

Initially programmed for South By Southwest, Critical Thinking will court buyers on the strength of Leguizamo’s marquee value. Fans of feel-good sports movies — especially ones based on real events — should be intrigued, and the up-and-coming cast of young Latinx and African-American actors will appeal to audiences hungry for more diversity on screen.

In Miami in 1998, a dedicated but overworked teacher named Mr. Martinez (Leguizamo) works at one of Dade County’s poorest schools, running a chess class for students who, oftentimes, have very little else that’s positive in their lives. But once young men like Ito (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.), who has to work long hours to support himself, and Sedrick (Corwin Tuggles), who has a disciplinarian father, become experts in the game, Martinez fights to get the school to support a team that will compete in district meets.

Like many recent true-life dramas, Critical Thinking shows the real individuals during the end credits, speaking briefly about their experiences with this chess team. That device has become a bit of a cliché, which unfortunately is fitting for a film that too easily follows the tired tenets of sports dramas. It fashions itself as a classic underdog tale from the start, and nothing that happens in subsequent reels diverts Dito Montiel’s script from its predetermined big-game finale.

That’s a shame because Leguizamo is quite likeable as Martinez, largely staying away from the kinds of showy speeches that plague films of this ilk. This wise but pragmatic teacher, who grew up in the same community as his students, knows that rousing oratory won’t help these kids. Instead, he shows tough love and advocates for chess’s efficient, dispassionate strategising, which might motivate these players to feel like they have control over their destiny. And as a director, Leguizamo does a good job of conveying the controlled chaos of a high school classroom as Martinez relates to his brash, unruly wards, lending those scenes a realistically rambunctious energy.

Lendeborg and Tuggles lead a confident young cast, who often bring sensitivity to roles that are underwritten. Even though the characters are drawn from actual members of the ’98 chess team, Critical Thinking tends to simplify their hardships until they feel like generic coming-of-age plights. (Ito gets involved in selling drugs, while Sedrick’s clashes with his dad, played by Michael Kenneth Williams, don’t have much resonance.) Because Leguizamo has to focus on several students’ arcs, none of their chess exploits are particularly riveting — which makes the team’s journey to the national championship less exciting than it should be.

Still, the movie’s thoughtful tenor isn’t to be discounted. This team will face off against opponents who are often white and privileged, and Critical Thinking consistently asks the audience to consider the racism and daily disadvantages that America’s poorer communities must endure. For these students, chess is the one level playing field they have — the board doesn’t discriminate because of your background, finances or skin colour — and there’s poignancy in the small measure of comfort that provides our characters. But the filmmakers’ willingness to plug their story into an inspirational-drama framework turns out to be a bad move — nuance and insight get sacrificed for reassuring narrative payoffs. 

Production company: Chaplin/Berkowitz Productions

International sales: UTA, [email protected]  

Producers: Scott Rosenfelt, Jason Mandl

Screenplay: Dito Montiel

Production design: Mark Harrington

Editing: Jamie Kirkpatrick

Cinematography: Zach Zamboni

Music: Chris Hajian

Main cast: John Leguizamo, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Angel Bismark Curiel, Will Hochman, Corwin Tuggles, Jeffry Batista, Zora Casebere, Ramses Jimenez, Rachel Bay Jones, Michael Kenneth Williams

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Critical Thinking

The true story of the Miami Jackson High School chess team which was the first inner city team to win the U.S. National Chess Championship. The true story of the Miami Jackson High School chess team which was the first inner city team to win the U.S. National Chess Championship. The true story of the Miami Jackson High School chess team which was the first inner city team to win the U.S. National Chess Championship.

• John Leguizamo
• Dito Montiel
• Rachel Bay Jones
• Michael Kenneth Williams
• 31 User reviews
• 20 Critic reviews
• 65 Metascore

Top cast 74

• Mr. Martinez

• Principal Kestel

• Mr. Roundtree

• Sedrick Roundtree

• Oelmy 'Ito' Paniagua
• (as Jorge Lendeborg)

• Rodelay Medina
• (as Angel Bismark Curiel)

• Marcel Martinez

• Detective Ransone

• Detective Vargas
• Michael Rivera

• Jitney Driver

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Martinez started the after-school chess club in 1992 after his teacher's lounge rounds of chess with another teacher sparked student interest. His playing partner left the school that year and students began challenging him to matches so the club was born.
• Goofs During Ito's game at the regional tournament, both Ito and Martinez say that he is in "Zugzwang". However, in a real "Zugzwang" situation, a player loses only because he is forced to make a move, while Ito lose the same way even if it was his opponent's time to move, as he could take the pawn on d3 with the queen.

Mr. Martinez : All right, now, people, this is gonna be very basic for some of you, but for the fish, or the newbies as I like to call you, this is gonna be eye opening because what you've got is 64 squares, 32 pieces, it doesn't matter how rich or poor you are, what Ivy League school you may go or you may not go to, what prison you hopefully never set foot in, because chess is the great equalizer.

• Crazy credits Over the credits, there are interviews with the real people who the movie is based on.
• Soundtracks What Would You Do Written by Timothy McNealy Performed by Timothy McNealy Published by Afrika Kuruvilla Kurian, BMI

User reviews 31

• Sep 4, 2020
• How long is Critical Thinking? Powered by Alexa
• September 4, 2020 (United States)
• United States
• Eleştirel Düşünme
• Miami, Florida, USA
• Critical thinking
• Cinema Veritas
• Hialeah Park Studios
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• $3,000,000 (estimated)

Technical specs

• Runtime 1 hour 57 minutes

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Critical Thinking Reviews

John Leguizamo’s Critical Thinking is a strategic crowd-pleaser.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Sep 9, 2022

It’s difficult to not become invested in a light-hearted story with good intentions, even when the storytelling feels scattershot at times.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Jun 5, 2022

A smart and solid directing debut.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5 / 5 | Jun 25, 2021

This drama is the classic story of an underdog team overcoming the odds and making it all the way; unfortunately, it falls back on stereotypical characterizations to tell its tale.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 19, 2021

The film questions the failures of the educational system through the experiences of a group of students of Latin and African American background [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jan 8, 2021

This is a movie for this moment, one that offers hope to the marginalized without pandering to them or offering up insincere platitudes.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Nov 27, 2020

an engaging and moving reminder that externally imposed limitations are meant to be shattered

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 21, 2020

The endearing cast generates hard-earned sympathy to keep the underdog clichés in check.

Full Review | Sep 19, 2020

It's filmed as if a conventional docudrama.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Sep 13, 2020

Critical Thinking is worth a look for people who want to see a real-life inspirational story portrayed in a familiar way. The believable performances from most of the cast go a long way in preventing the movie from sinking into forgettable mediocrity.

Full Review | Sep 12, 2020

[It] captures the appeal of chess without defaulting to a white perspective of these students. It may be overly familiar at times, but just like the game of chess itself, sometimes it's the smallest moves that end up making the biggest difference.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 11, 2020

John Leguizamo managed to make chess interesting while telling this true story of a Miami, Florida teacher. He inspired his students and to a degree the movie inspires us all.

Full Review | Original Score: 6/10 | Sep 9, 2020

You won't find a lot of surprises in this story, but then the reason these formulas are so familiar is because they work.

Full Review | Sep 8, 2020

When John Leguizamo is just flowing with those kids... this movie is as good as any other [classroom drama].

Full Review | Sep 5, 2020

Director and Star John Leguizamo makes all the right moves in bringing story of underdog high school chess team to the screen.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 5, 2020

It's the kind of movie that gives you hope for America.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Sep 4, 2020

If nothing else, Critical Thinking reminds you what a chess player can look like.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 4, 2020

The story of Critical Thinking may be familiar and seem clichéd, but there's a specificity to its storytelling that's anything but those qualities.

Leguizamo's storytelling, while conventional, features lively interactions, embraceable characters and credibly depicted struggles. The tournament scenes contain sports-movie adrenaline.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Sep 3, 2020

This heartfelt drama about a rough-and-tumble group of high-schoolers who claw their way to a national chess tournament has a sweetness that softens its flaws.

Full Review | Sep 3, 2020

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Movie Review – Critical Thinking (2020)

August 31, 2020 by Robert Kojder

Critical Thinking , 2020.

Directed by John Leguizamo. Starring John Leguizamo, Rachel Bay Jones, Michael Kenneth Williams, Corwin C. Tuggles, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Angel Bismark Curiel, Will Hochman, Jeffry Batista, Zora Casebere, Ramses Jimenez, Sydney Arroyo, Brandon Somers, and Isaac Beverly.

The true story of the Miami Jackson High School chess team which was the first inner city team to win the U.S. National Chess Championship.

Chess is looked down upon as a high school elective course. It’s frowned upon and disregarded so much that even though the very nature of the game promotes, well, critical thinking, to the rest of the school it’s just a class where slackers and/or troubled students can take to get an easy passing mark. They, and realistically most schools, would rather fund physical sports such as football while handwaving away the fact chess is about brainpower and all-inclusive regardless of socioeconomic status. John Leguizamo’s Mario Martinez ( Critical Thinking also marks his directorial debut, discounting a made-for-TV action project about a boxer) voices this frustration verbally and directly to principal Kestel (Rachel Bay Jones), and due to the actor’s always likable fiery persona and logic, it’s easy to get on board with the sentiment.

Based on the 1998 Miami Jackson High School chess team, the story also focuses on a small group of LatinX and Black students that actually enjoying chess and testing their minds whether it’s to take their minds off of the crime surrounding them or their rough personal lives which range from dysfunctional families to temptation into drug dealing as a means to hopefully escape poverty. There’s plenty of characters that make for plenty of choices and consequences, similar to an actual game of chess.

Most notable is Sedrick Roundtree (Corwin C. Tuggles) who lives with his bitter father (the reliable Michael Kenneth Williams making the most out of a somewhat underdeveloped character) that lies around the house all day grieving his tragically deceased wife while holding and staring at pictures of her (sometimes the film is not subtle.) Dad also happens to be a decent chess player himself as father and son occasionally square off (albeit heatedly; it’s far from traditional bonding) while lambasting Sedrick’s ambitions of stepping up his game and seeing as far as his team can go in the playoffs. College football players have won the Heisman Trophy and gone nowhere in life, so what are a bunch of chess trophies going to do for anyone?

That’s his father’s logic; he’s a cynical and nearly broken man. Again, there is a supremely talented actor embodying the character but limited material, and perhaps more frustratingly, like quite a few characters is just dropped from the narrative eventually. It doesn’t help that Critical Thinking has a fairly abrupt ending that is only concerned with winning and losing rather than how the success story is going to alter their lives. We don’t even get any pre-credits random facts about what any of the students went on to do in life.

While some of the subplots are all over the place, it’s safe to say that John Leguizamo has a clear direction when it comes to not only presenting chess as a tense game (feelings heightened by wonderful music from Chris Hajian that evokes the brainiac thinking from these kids in a race against the clock making moves across various tournament matchups), but educating when it comes to the basics and specifics of the game itself, both as a director and actor. There are long sequences that can be simply summarized as Mr. Martinez lecturing on famous chess games, historical chess players, and how history itself goes beyond whatever information is being suppressed by the white people writing the textbooks. He’s such a magnetic actor that it’s easy to buy these teenagers coming from a seemingly awful part of the country that has basically nothing, engaging his cheesy inspirational speeches (it had to be an easy choice for him to play the role himself instead of casting someone). The R rating also helps, giving the students the freedom to be authentic and break out into bad habits of their own (at one point they try selling drug-laced bakery treats to raise funding to travel to one of their tournament games.)

It’s a delight watching these impoverished students battle uphill against all odds becoming a success story; it doesn’t feel like overdramatic feel-good nonsense, likely because John Leguizamo knows how to mix the bleak reality of ghetto life into uplifting sports drama. There’s definitely a few more characters than necessary and one or two plot threads that could use a little more, but what’s in Critical Thinking is intelligent enough and succinctly portrays chess as a metaphor for life. John Leguizamo has always been a terrific character actor, so it brings joy to report that his timely chess club underdog directorial debut comes with spirit and bite.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check  here  for new reviews, friend me on Facebook, follow my  Twitter  or  Letterboxd , check out my personal non-Flickering Myth affiliated  Patreon , or email me at [email protected]

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Critical Thinking , Movie About Miami Jackson's Chess Champs, Available for Download

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Critical thinking, common sense media reviewers.

Underdog chess team defies odds but plays into stereotypes.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Positive themes of teamwork and defiance against t

Main characters are depicted as underdogs whose su

Frequent gun use. One character is abruptly shot a

Occasional kissing.

Frequent use of the words "f--k," "s--t," and "ass

Adults get drunk. Underage characters smoke cigare

Parents need to know that Critical Thinking is a fact-based drama about a high school chess team from an underserved community that defies the odds to make it to the U.S. National Chess Championship. Directed by and starring John Leguizamo, the movie has frequent swearing ("f--k," "s--t," etc.), underage…

Positive Messages

Positive themes of teamwork and defiance against the odds are prevalent. While it exposes some of the broken systems in public education, it fails to fully portray its teen characters' humanity, contributing to problematic stereotypes.

Positive Role Models

Main characters are depicted as underdogs whose success goes against everyone's expectations. Some show determination, but most play into stereotypes associated with Black and Latinx teens from under-resourced communities -- i.e., unmotivated, unintelligent jokesters. That makes it seem like their success is because of some paradoxical talent instead of their strength of character. Failure to see these kids' humanity contributes to their stereotyping, on-screen and off.

Violence & Scariness

Frequent gun use. One character is abruptly shot and killed. Another character is punched and strangled to death. Parents emotionally abuse children.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent use of the words "f--k," "s--t," and "ass."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults get drunk. Underage characters smoke cigarettes. Drug dealing.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Critical Thinking is a fact-based drama about a high school chess team from an underserved community that defies the odds to make it to the U.S. National Chess Championship. Directed by and starring John Leguizamo , the movie has frequent swearing ("f--k," "s--t," etc.), underage cigarette smoking, drug dealing, punching, strangling, and gun violence that results in death. Parents emotionally abuse children. While positive themes of teamwork and overcoming challenges are prevalent, the movie's Black and Latinx teens are stereotypically depicted as unintelligent with little work ethic and their success as an anomaly. Rachel Bay Jones and Michael Kenneth Williams co-star. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

In CRITICAL THINKING, teacher Mr. T ( John Leguizamo ) oversees an unofficial detention hall at Miami Jackson Senior High School, where students are sent if they're deemed troublesome. Mr. T seizes the opportunity to start a chess team, all while navigating limited resources, a school with little faith in his students' abilities, and the stressors of his students' turbulent personal lives. When the team starts to succeed, the students come up with creative fundraisers to pay for travel and lodging at their competitions. But none of this is easy. One teen faces pressures at home from an emotionally abusive father who resents his son's talents. Another is pulled into dealing drugs to make ends meet. All the while, Mr. T is the loving, encouraging adult they crave.

Is It Any Good?

This drama is the classic story of an underdog team overcoming the odds and making it all the way; unfortunately, it falls back on stereotypical characterizations to tell its tale. The Miami Jackson team seems to be in this position because its members -- Black and Latinx teens from under-resourced communities -- have historically underestimated identities. The film plays on the biases that are often held about these identities by depicting the teens as shiftless and unfocused. They're careless in their fundraising efforts, they try to pass notes during tournaments, and they use the threat of physical violence to intimidate their opponents.

Their chess skills are an afterthought, making their success feel like an anomaly. And it certainly doesn't help that a White teen joins the team as they gain momentum and becomes their shining star -- teaching the other kids new chess moves and giving them vocabulary lessons. He's the only teen character whose background, personal life, and stressors aren't explored. So while Critical Thinking is diverse in its casting and exposes some of the broken systems in public education, it misses the mark in humanizing its characters. The failure to see these kids' humanity contributes to their stereotyping, on-screen and off.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Critical Thinking handles stereotypes and biases. Can media offer positive representations while still promoting stereotypical characterizations?

What does Critical Thinking teach viewers about student engagement and the importance of teaching things in a fun way?

What role does teamwork play in Critical Thinking ? Why is it an important character strength ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : September 4, 2020
• On DVD or streaming : September 4, 2020
• Cast : John Leguizamo , Rachel Bay Jones , Michael Kenneth Williams
• Director : John Leguizamo
• Inclusion Information : Latino directors, Latino actors, Female actors
• Studio : Vertical Entertainment
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : High School
• Character Strengths : Teamwork
• Run time : 117 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : February 19, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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'Critical Thinking' Review: John Leguizamo Turns Inner-City Teens Into Chess Champs In This Powerful, Inspiring Drama

There are plenty of movies where inner-city kids with troubled lives get inspired by their teachers. But you've never seen one like Critical Thinking , which takes that formula and puts a different kind of intellectual twist on it by focusing on a group of Black and Latinx kids in 1998 who were determined to become national chess champions. In the face of underwhelming support by school administrators, troubled family dynamics, and a world that never gives them the opportunities they deserve, these kids were driven to be better than the criminals or underachievers everyone expected them to be. And it's all thanks to a teacher who never gave up on them.

John Leguizamo stars as Mr. Mario Martinez, a teacher at Miami Jackson Senior High School who leads an elective course called "Critical Thinking," which is basically a class where kids learn how to play chess and apply the mentality it takes to play the game to their own lives. He attempts to stimulate his class intellectually as much as he can, even Cornelia, the girl who never wants to answer any questions and really doesn't care about what's going on in class. But no matter how often he's rebuffed, even when she says she's not there during attendance, he never stops giving her a chance.

There are four breakout students in the class who form the school's chess team that is hungry to become national chess champions. Sedrick ( Corwin Tuggles ) is the most dedicated and hard-working of the group who has to deal with a father ( Michael K. Williams ) constantly trying to bring him down, whether it's by beating him in chess or by completely being checked out of his life, having never recovered after the death of Sedrick's mother. Ito ( Jorge Lendeborg Jr. ) has a short fuse but a passion for the game, though he's constantly having to work late to support his family, making it difficult for him to balance tournaments and responsibility. It leaves him constantly contemplating taking the wrong path just to make ends meet. Rodelay ( Angel Bismark Curiel ) is the mouthy one in the group, sometimes a little too cocky, but also a fiercely loyal friend. And finally, Gil ( Will Hochman ), who comes aboard the team despite having a confrontation with Sedrick awhile back after Gil accidentally stepped on his sneaker and got a punch in the face for his troubles. There's also Jeffry Batista who comes into play in the second half of the movie as a student named Marcel, and I don't want to spoil how, but just know that he brings a unique presence to the team as well.

Each of these kids have their own struggles and shortcomings, but they become a tight-knit group. While it might sound like Critical Thinking has familiar Disney-like sensibilities that we've seen in plenty of their sports movies, including the chess-based film The Queen of Katwe , let me tell you that this movie is much more raw and far less sappy. It doesn't hold back the reality of the danger these kids face everyday, and it doesn't play nice when it comes to teachable moments throughout. It's an honest portrayal of these broken school systems that have to contend with teens who are on the verge of becoming criminals every day, mostly because they're just a product of the environment around them. That's established early on in the movie with a shocking turn of events.

Unfortunately, due to the school's constant struggle with misbehavior, the Critical Thinking class occasionally becomes a makeshift sort of detention for students acting out. We're not necessarily talking about kids who are actively choosing to make trouble, but teens who are merely a product of their corrupt and even criminal environment, teens with parents who are already sending them down the wrong path, kids who have to work school nights to help their family get by. One of these kids ends up in the class for the day, but isn't really keen to engage during school. However, when the bell rings, he swipes a chess set to take home, clearly wanting to do something more than be obstinate. Sadly, he never gets a chance to prove it, because an altercation on the way home results in him suddenly being shot in the head by a drug dealer.

This moment, which happens very early in the movie, completely threw me for a loop and sent my jaw to the floor. What felt like the predictable beginning of an inspiring story about this kid who turns his life around by taking in an interest in chess was literally stopped dead in its tracks. This scene sets up the lingering presence of either the threat of becoming a cog in the crime machine or a victim of it. It's business as usual for this urban school, tragic but ultimately expected in this part of Miami. These kids are always faced with opportunities, sometimes even encouragement, to throw their lives away instead of following any dreams they might have to be more than a criminal statistic. Here, it takes courage to have ambition and be smart, because it could end up getting you killed.

Even more credit goes to the stellar young cast for bringing these characters to life with such raw, natural passion. Corwin Tuggles brings a quiet power to Sedrick, who always seems to be contemplating his next step into the future. Angel Bismark Curiel puts on a tough, smart-ass exterior as Rodelay, but touchingly shows his vulnerable, softer side in one particularly powerful moment that you'll know when you see it. Will Hochman brings a subtlety to Gil as the white kid who feels a little out of place in a school full of kids of color. They're also a big part of making chess exciting on screen, largely thanks to their tactics to shake up their opponents a bit, but also due to the laser focus and speed they bring during matches.

But for me, the most remarkable performance comes from Jorge Lendeborg Jr., who you might remember from movies like Bumblebee or Alita: Battle Angel , and should go out of your way to see in Brigsby Bear and Love, Simon . His character Ito has the most heavy-lifting to do in this film as the one kid who struggles most with his future. Ito has the pressure of trying to support his family, tempted by the opportunity to make more money by working the streets for a local drug dealer. Lendeborg Jr. brings an intensity to this role that lingers in his eyes throughout every scene. There are several moments throughout the film where you can feel the emotion bubbling within him, trying not to let tears roll down his face as he attempts to maintain a tough exterior. This is the fear of a kid who is trying to be tough but can't help but feel lost and scared at the same time. It's truly a breakout performance.

What's great about Critical Thinking is it doesn't gloss over the challenges that inner-city kids face everyday, and it doesn't try to sugarcoat them either. Furthermore, unlike some movies that feature a group of urban teens inspired by a teacher and their lessons, it doesn't make it seem like merely winning a chess tournament will make all the problems in their lives go away. It's one victory that might make everything else feel less overwhelming, at least for a little bit.

More importantly, Critical Thinking just might inspire more teens who feel stuck in this same position to take a chance on something. The reason representation matters is because it's truly inspiring to see someone who looks like you achieving something that you didn't know was possible. There's a pivotal scene in Critical Thinking where Mr. Martinez talks with his class about Black and Latinx innovators and pioneers being erased from history books, because they were written by white men. Leguizamo's character says:

"I want to ask you that whenever you don't see a familiar image that you feel like you can relate to in whatever it is that you're moved by, that you dig deeper than your dusty old Britannica Encyclopedia. We people of color have been everywhere since time and memoriam, and if you pick up one of these bad boys, and you open it up, and you don't recognize yourself, I hope you realize that this was their oversight. That this was their mistake to paint you out."

It's a speech that doesn't feel contrived or ham-fisted and it's unfortunately all too relevant as the crux of the movie's message. With Critical Thinking , John Leguizamo has delivered an outstanding directorial achievement that isn't just inspiring because some kids won a chess tournament. It's inspiring because a group of kids who are often overlooked and shoved aside chose to push forward, ignore everyone who counted them out, and achieved something that they could truly be proud of. Perhaps more importantly, it gives the next generation a chance to see themselves in future history books.

/Film Rating: 9 out of 10

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Where to watch

Critical thinking.

Directed by John Leguizamo

Chess is the great equalizer

Based on a true story from 1998, five Latino and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher.

John Leguizamo Rachel Bay Jones Michael Kenneth Williams Corwin C. Tuggles Jorge Lendeborg Jr. Angel Bismark Curiel Will Hochman Jeffry Batista Zora Casebere Ramses Jimenez Todd Allen Durkin Brandon Somers Isaac Beverly Ruben E. A. Brown Sydney Arroyo Carlos Guerrero Michele Lepe Tatum Price

Director Director

John Leguizamo

Producers Producers

Elayne Schneiderman Schmidt John J. Brunetti Jr. Jason Mandl Scott M. Rosenfelt Joseph Krutel

Writer Writer

Dito Montiel

Casting Casting

Avy Kaufman

Editor Editor

Jamie Kirkpatrick

Cinematography Cinematography

Zach Zamboni

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

Emilio Estefan Jr. John Leguizamo Carla Berkowitz Harvey Chaplin

Production Design Production Design

J. Mark Harrington

Art Direction Art Direction

Lewis Zucker

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Composer composer.

Chris Hajian

Costume Design Costume Design

Danny Santiago

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Carol Raskin

Cinema Veritas NRSP Perfect Balance

Primary Language

Spoken languages.

English Spanish

Releases by Date

18 dec 2020, 21 jan 2021, 04 sep 2020, 05 may 2021, releases by country, russian federation.

• Theatrical 18+
• Theatrical 輔12級

117 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Dave Taylor ★★½ 5

I know nothing about chess, but based on the overview given in this movie, it is the most random game in the whole world.

I think therein lies the problem for casual viewers checking this out. I watch hockey about as much as I play chess, but I know if the puck goes in the net, the team that put the puck in the net gets a point. They try to film the chess matches in a similar fashion to your standard sports movies, but I didn’t feel any tension mount (except for the last match) because there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to what pieces were being moved. I only knew the good guys won after…

Review by JBird ★★★

Leguizamo wants his students to Critical Think, Like how to draw or come back from the brink. Although no one planned it, The year of the Gambit, With two chess submissions that don't stink.

Review by Joshua Arispe ★★★ 4

I should probably start off by mentioning that I’m an avid chess player. Chess is the greatest game ever invented and I play it quite often. Some friends of mine also worked on this movie, which I think is pretty cool. So I had many reasons to give Critical Thinking a watch. 

It clicked with me right away. Not as inspiring as it tries to be (thanks to some lame subplots and side characters) but I enjoyed the in-depth look at chess and John Leguizamo as the instantly likeable teacher. Reminded me a lot of Edward James Olmos’ Jaime Escalante from Stand and Deliver . He nails the role and made me wish I had a teacher like him. Hell, I…

Review by Karl ★★★

The true story of a chess team from an underfunded, underserved Florida public high school. Fortunately they have a passionate teacher, Mr. Martinez, who will do whatever it takes to get them to the chess finals in Beverly Hills. Sure it's cliche and you've seen variations of this underdog can-do spirit/inspirational story before, but when it's done right it can be among the most rewarding of viewings.

It's the kind of film that feels great while watching it, but won't likely stay with you, preventing from transcending the formula. The young actors make things worthwhile, particularly Jorge Lendeborg Jr., who has it the roughest of the five players. Also on hand is the late Michael Kenneth Williams. John Leguizamo, who…

Review by Luke Robertson ★★★½

I love this genre of movie. Underdog sports team come together to completely overcome the odds. It’s not my favourite in the genre but it is still a good movie. The cast are decent as well. If you are a fan of high school dramas then I think you’ll enjoy this.

Review by danielle ⚡ ★★ 1

movies can't be formulaic and long like pick a struggle

Review by Tim McClelland ★★★½ 1

There are many films of this type. We've seen the inspirational teacher with the underdog students fighting for their time to shine. When you start watching a film that follows that formula, it will need something special to help it stand out. This movie has cliched elements, but it also has heart and it had me on edge even though I knew the outcome. It took a little time to get me invested, but once I was, I was all in on the movie. It is a great true story so to see it made into a pretty decent film is awesome. I really enjoyed watching this. There is a great story here that has some wonderful characters and it will leave you feeling good. If a movie like this leaves me with a smile on my face, I'd say it did its job just fine.

Review by Justin Decloux ★★★½

I am a sucker for an 'Based on a True Story' underdog sports movie, and the fact that this is about chess (a game I have no interest in playing, but I love due to ti's simple complexity), and stars (and was directed by) John Leguizamo makes this even more my kind of thing. It hits all the expected beats, kind of muddles it's finale (Oh, that's it?), and is directed in a workman like fashion, but I still found it a thrill.

I will continue to not play chess.

Watched for The Bay Street Video Podcast :https://soundcloud.com/thebaystreetvideopodcast

Review by Nicholas Faron ★★★½

I've never understood chess, but hot damn is it exciting to watch (on screen that is).

Review by Jacob Knight ★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

John Leguizamo’s feature directorial debut is an R-rated, Dito Montiel scripted after school special about inner city Miami kids winning the US National Chess Championship in ‘98. It hits every beat you expect it to, including Leguizamo (who plays the boys’ coach/teacher/mentor) reading poetry to his class, and even has one of the would-be champs return to the streets to sell drugs for a local assassin after he loses his job. And you know what? That’s fine, because even though Leguizamo isn’t a born filmmaker (the direction here is the very definition of “workmanlike”) he injects street smarts and a POV that, when combined with the troupe young/non-actors, makes it all feel lived-in as opposed to schmaltzy (which, I mean, it still totally is). Maybe I’m just a sucker for this sort of thing, but the amount of screen time devoted to the strategic history of chess alone made the dorkier parts of my brain light up.

Review by waz ★★★½ 2

Coach Carter meets Fresh meets The Queen’s Gambit . There’s truly nothing more exhilarating than seeing two individuals duke it out on one of the most ancient boardgames in history.

With the release of The Queens Gambit  as well as the sudden surge by many popular Twitch streamers, 2020 was a great year for chess that brought hundreds of newcomers to the game. Although this film in particular may have slipped under the radar during the chess boom, it has plenty of heart to it and finishes on a strong, inspirational note. There’s a bit of something for all chess players to be able to relate to or enjoy here whether it’s seeing the camaraderie within a tight-knit team or the familiar intrigue of…

Review by Jeremy Kremser ★★★

My dad didn’t make a single racially charged comment during this whole movie it’s a Christmas miracle

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Critical Thinking: Is the 2020 Movie Based on Real Chess Players?

Directed by John Leguizamo, ‘Critical Thinking’ is a 2020 sports film that follows a group of kids from Miami Jackson High School trying to win the National Chess Championship. Led by Mario Martinez, the team comprises Sedrick Roundtree, Marcel Martinez, Gilbert Luna, Rodelay Medina, and Olemy Paniagua. The five boys come from the inner parts of Miami, where the families strive daily for necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing. Coach Mario Martinez sees their interest in chess as an opportunity for growth and sets out on a quest to create history.

Set in 1998, the film portrays what it’s like to come from underprivileged backgrounds and how classism deprives poor people of great opportunities. In addition, the narrative tackles subjects such as racism and juvenile crimes and depicts how the latter results from several other factors in a system that doesn’t uplift the downtrodden. The various characters and backdrops feel authentic and allow the audience to empathize with the people they see onscreen. The compelling performances and organic character journeys have made many wonder if the the story is rooted in reality. Well, allow us to shed some light on the matter.

Critical Thinking: Based on True Events

Yes, ‘Critical Thinking’ is a true story. Written by Dito Montiel and directed by John Leguizamo, the movie captures the events leading up to the 1998 National Chess Championship. It showcases how Mario Martinez and his team of boys from Miami Jackson High School won the title. The group is also the first-ever team from Miami to win the national title in chess . Executive producer, Carla Berkowitz, came up with this idea when she read an article in 1997 about the boys of Miami Jackson. She wanted to tell the story of all these boys doing such incredible things in the chess world with Mario Martinez’s help.

Interestingly the movie is quite close to how the events unfolded in real life. All 5 players in the movie are based on real-life chess players. Even the character of Coach Mario Martinez in the film has a real-life counterpart, who is a chess teacher . The real-life figures also played a significant role in the filming process. In an interview with CineMovie, Carla Berkowitz said , “All the boys that were portrayed and Mario obviously were the consultants in the chess movie.”

Another fascinating aspect is that Berkowitz wanted to make the movie for about two decades. Although filming began in 2018, Carla Berkowitz has been in touch with all players and Mario Martinez since 1997. While describing the movie’s accuracy, the real Mario Martinez and Carla Berkowitz mentioned a few things. First, all games we see the players play in the movie were played by their real-life counterparts. Second, Marcel’s book of chess moves also existed in real life. Third, the scene where Marcel plays with Mario, Sedrick, Roddy, and Gil, with his eyes closed, happened in reality too.

Numerous events in the movie mirror circumstances that transpired in reality, which elevates the narrative’s authenticity. ‘Critical Thinking’ is far more than a chess championship for Mario Martinez and the boys. The group comes from a place where they have nothing but want to create a better life for themselves. However, the boys do not get a fair shot at anything due to racial discrimination and financial circumstances. Coach Martinez sees chess as an opportunity and a metaphor for their life.

At the film’s beginning, Martinez says that chess is an equalizer that puts everyone on a level playing field. In fact, the teacher solves almost every problem with a chess move because he considers the game symbolic of life. The ideology comes from the real-life coach. In an interview with Orlando Sentinel, he said , “Chess is a way of looking at choices and realizing, ‘If I do this, then this will happen. If I do that, then that will happen,'” Martinez deduced, “Choices have consequences. That’s critical thinking. That’s analytical. And that’s life.”

The coach always applies this philosophy in the movie, which leads the boys to bag the national title. Marcel wins the title for the individuals’ category, and Miami Jackson High School wins in the teams’ category. In real-life, Coach Martinez didn’t stop with the 1998 championship title. The teacher went on to win several more via kids who developed an interest in the sport. In the next four years, he offered his guidance to various teams comprising different players representing Miami Jackson and won 4 more national championship titles.

In 2000, Rodelay Medina became the national champion in the expert division. Marcel played three opponents simultaneously while being blindfolded. Therefore, to reiterate, ‘Critical Thinking’ is a true story of a group of boys and their coach from Miami Jackson. It essays how Martinez and his team become the first from Miami to win the National Chess Championship. The narrative also portrays how the boys overcome several struggles and move toward a hopeful future.

Read More: Is Mario Martinez Based on a Real-Life Coach? Where is He Now?

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Critical Thinking | SXSW 2020 Film Review

Amanda M. Sink March 22, 2020

The intellectual sport of chess teaches patience, the importance of rational thinking, consequences, and how to re-strategize when an obstacle presents itself. Pair that with a passionate teacher whose faith in his students’ abilities is unwavering and you get the true story behind Critical Thinking . 

Mario Martinez ( John Leguizamo ) is a Cuban-American instructor at a Miami high school in the 90’s with a classroom full of students whose behavior is often less than acceptable. But those students are enduring a battle much stronger on the streets at home. These disadvantaged minorities are pushed to the wayside by the school system that only seems to care about the kids who already have what they need to succeed. 

Recognizing this failure, and after losing a kid to the street war zone, Mr. Martinez resists. Nothing will keep him from helping his students find a way out of war, drugs, and death. For Martinez, that means chess. He uses this to group them together and find solace in a skillful craft that they can feel accomplished in. As the film progresses, Martinez’s students must face the duel both at home and in the game of chess, if they want to make it to Nationals.

Martinez is the teacher we all wish we could have had, remember having, or aspire to be, because of the level of impact he has on his students and the lengths to which he will go for them to reach their full potential. He doesn’t make excuses for them, even the ones who have to work third shift all night and come into class late. It may seem harsh but the reality is that life doesn’t give you breaks when you want or need them. Leguizamo perfectly encapsulates the essence of Martinez in his performance. 

Outside of Leguizamo, the cast is filled to the brim with talent. Young actors that do more than just fill screen time, but make you care about their character’s story. Jorge Lendeborg Jr. plays “Ito”, the struggling youth who works every night to help pay the bills. Lendeborg’s take is one that resonates deeply with those who understand the turmoil he’s enduring. Despite his fits of anger and picking fights, it’s clear Ito is a smart kid.

The other stand out casting comes from the Roundtree household. Sedrick Roundtree (Corwin C. Tuggles) knows all about the game of chess, seeing as he plays it with his father (Michael Kenneth Williams). The two have a close but tumultuous relationship since Sedrick’s mother passed away, and Mr. Roundtree is living in a constant state of devastation. It felt so authentic seeing Michael Kenneth Williams laying on a couch reeling through his pain, holding an image of his wife one minute, and then later becoming reactionary and aggressive when he’s having a drink. 

Leguizamo’s directorial debut is overall a successful one. The story alone is intense and inspiring, and his cast stands alongside his own fabulous performance the whole way through. A lack of subtitles when another language is being spoken and a need to flesh out one character that arrives midway through are really the only downfalls of Critical Thinking . 

A chronicle about surviving despite the odds and in the face of dire consequences, Critical Thinking reminds us all the importance of planning our next move. 

The Hollywood Outsider Review Score

Performances - 6.5, screenplay - 6.5, production - 6.5.

A chronicle about surviving despite the odds and in face of the consequences, Critical Thinking reminds us all the importance of planning our next move. 

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• "'Critical Thinking' shows that Leguizamo makes a good teacher on screen and behind the camera (...) A story that is truly inspiring and educational"  Joe Blessing : The Playlist
• "The picture is pleasant enough, but watching it you’re always one or two moves ahead."  Owen Gleiberman : Variety
• "Leguizamo has delivered an outstanding directorial achievement"  Ethan Anderton : SlashFilm
• "'Critical Thinking' does little to detach itself from genre cliché; yet this heartfelt drama (...) has a sweetness that softens its flaws."  Jeannette Catsoulis : The New York Times
• "The script by Dito Montiel has some sharp commentary about the education system (...) Leguizamo and Montiel never sugarcoat the dangers of the environment their characters inhabit (…) Rating: ★★★ (out of 4)"  Odie Henderson : rogerebert.com
• "The beauty of Leguizamo's film is that the filmmaker never tries to outmaneuver the viewer. This may be a textbook case of an inspirational teacher/underdog sports drama, but it surehandedly delivers the feels"  Gary M. Kramer : Salon
• "This inspirational sports drama has a worthy message (...) but viewers may ultimately prefer to have seen a documentary about the real-life participants rather than this earnest, conventional dramatisation."  Tim Grierson : Screendaily

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Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors, it ends with us.

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"What would you say if your daughter told you her boyfriend pushed her down the stairs but it's okay because really it was just an accident?" Questions like this are at the heart of "It Ends with Us,” based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Colleen Hoover . This is a message picture about what it takes to break the vicious cycle of domestic violence. It is not subtle. 

After the emotional turmoil of her estranged father's funeral in Maine, our heroine, the impeccably fashionable Lily Bloom ( Blake Lively , the best clotheshorse movie star since Kay Francis), breaks into a rooftop to peer at the vast beauty of Boston's skyline. Before she can do much introspection, she meets the impossibly handsome and impossibly named Ryle Kincaid ( Justin Baldoni , also the film's director), a neurosurgeon (naturally). Baldoni comes barreling into the scene like a hurricane, hurling a pair of steel chairs across the rooftop in anger. Instead of repulsion from this violent act, Lily finds herself intrigued and drawn to his charm and megawatt smile. Their playful patter, peppered with barbs veiled as flirtation from Ryle, ramps up until the dashing surgeon is summoned back to the hospital by his beeper. 

This is of course not the last we see of Ryle. He just happens to be the brother of Allysa ( Jenny Slate ), the quirky rich and bored housewife Lily hires to help her run the Cottagecore florist shop of her dreams. Although Lily repeatedly insists that she just wants to be friends, Ryle pursues her, ignoring her many pleas just as flagrantly as she ignores all his red flags. Lust is a hell of a drug. 

Quickly, Ryle's negs and flirtatious barbs ramp up, transforming into toxic jealousy and other forms of obsessive behavior. This includes inviting himself to dinner with her mother by dropping the L-word for the first time, one of several such instances of emotional manipulation he brandishes like a silver-tipped dagger. Before she knows it, Lily is not only in a relationship she didn't really want, she herself becomes an outlet for Ryle's raging temper. 

The early scenes of Lily and Ryle's volatile courtship are interwoven with scenes in which teenage Lily ( Isabela Ferrer ) falls in love for the first time with a schoolmate named Atlas ( Alex Neustaedter ). The soulful boy is squatting in the abandoned house across the street from hers, fleeing his mother’s abusive boyfriend. The generous and nonjudgmental Lily offers both aid and friendship when Atlas needs it the most. He in turn offers her a caring shoulder and a safe place to finally express the fear she feels as she watches her father physically abuse her own mother over and over again. 

These scenes are innocent and tender, the two young actors imbuing the teenagers with just the right balance of world weariness from the violence they’ve already endured and the irrepressible hope that comes with youth. Yet, Baldoni and his team of editors ( Oona Flaherty and Robb Sullivan ) can't quite find the right balance between these scenes and the more erotic and violent scenes featuring Baldoni and Lively. However, once Brandon Sklenar (doing his best Harry Connick, Jr. in " Hope Floats ") enters as the grown-up Atlas, he is able to craft an effortless, natural chemistry with Lively that is nearly as strong as these early moments, although they both are far too fleeting. 

This story of love, trauma and abuse is wrapped up in the same amber-hued autumnal glow of Lively’s bestie Taylor Swift ’s short film for her autobiographical song "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)," which itself is about an abusive relationship. Lily even has the same tousled strawberry blonde tresses as the short film's star Sadie Sink . So naturally, the film's most climatic moment of domestic abuse, like the short, takes place in the couple's kitchen. Later, the moment where Lily comes into her own power as she attempts to rebuild her life is underscored by Swift's "My Tears Ricochet" (which perhaps counts as a spoiler if you know the topic of the song. Swifties, I'm sorry.)

"It Ends with Us" is a fine-looking picture. Baldoni and cinematographer Barry Peterson know how to frame movie star faces in flattering medium close-ups, allowing every nuanced emotion, every twinkle in their eyes to transport the viewers on this emotional journey with them, even when the characters feel more like didactic cyphers than fully-realized human beings. Lily’s flower shop (which never seems to have any customers) is a Pinterest board brought to life. And Lively’s designer duds are nearly as showstopping as the ones she sports in “ A Simple Favor .”

Lively does her best to add emotional layers to Lily so we see her internal growth, but this process is often hampered by the film around her. I kept thinking of " Alice, Darling ,” Mary Nighy's incredible film about intimate partner violence from a few years back in which Anna Kendrick finds herself suffocating in a psychologically abusive relationship. In that film, Kendrick's character is given a full life and a group of friends who help her overcome the codependent trap she's been caged in. Here, the few women in Lily's life – her so-called best friend Allysa and her mother Jenny ( Amy Morton ) – are underdeveloped, relegated to a handful of scenes that largely exist as plot points.  

The PG-13 rating keeps the violence Ryle inflicts on Lily, or her father's violence in the flashbacks, to a minimum visually (and often seen in slow motion or in choppy montages), Christy Hall ’s script unfortunately often falls into "as the father of daughters" territory, giving more care to explaining why these men are the way they are (especially in Ryle's case, in the film's most cringe-worthy twist) than it does to the psychology – let alone the economics – of why women often stay with abusive partners. Instead, this subject, which should really be the key to the whole story, is covered in one very short scene between Lily and her mother. The forced love triangle once Atlas re-enters Lily's adult life also restricts things, causing Lily's life to once again orbit mostly around the men in it. 

"It Ends with Us" is certainly not a bad film. At times, it's actually quite good and its central message is crafted with intention and care. I just wish it had a sharper focus on Lily's interiority, her life beyond her trauma, and who she really is in relation to herself, and herself alone.

Marya E. Gates

Marya E. Gates is a freelance film and culture writer based in Los Angeles and Chicago. She studied Comparative Literature at U.C. Berkeley, and also has an overpriced and underused MFA in Film Production. Other bylines include Moviefone, The Playlist, Crooked Marquee, Nerdist, and Vulture. 

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It Ends with Us (2024)

Rated PG-13

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Blake Lively as Lily Bloom

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Eli roth’s ‘borderlands’: what the critics are saying.

The Lionsgate live-action adaptation of the popular video game stars Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, Edgar Ramirez, Ariana Greenblatt, Gina Gershon and Jamie Lee Curtis.

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Lionsgate ‘s Borderlands hits theaters Aug. 9, but the review embargo for the film broke Thursday, and the early reaction from critics has been dire.

A live-action adaptation of Gearbox Software’s popular video game series, Eli Roth ‘s film takes place on the planet Pandora and tells the story of a band of outlaw misfits. The film stars Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Ariana Greenblatt and Jamie Lee Curtis, with Jack Black providing the voice of a wisecracking robot.

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Below are key excerpts from some of the most prominent early reviews.

In his negative review for The Hollywood Reporter , David Rooney writes that “the big mystery [with Borderlands ] is how such a noisy nothing of a movie landed the stacked cast.” David zeroes in on what went wrong with the film, highlighting big changes during the production. “To be fair, the project for which Blanchett and other major names signed on possibly looked a little different given the number of screenwriting hands it passed through. The most notable of those belonged to Craig Mazin, a co-creator and co-writer of The Last of Us , who reportedly chose to remove his name from the project. The script credit ultimately went to Roth and first-timer Joe Crombie, with speculation that the latter is a pseudonym.”

In a zero stars review in the New York Post , Johnny Oleksinski writes that Borderlands is a serious misstep for an actor of the caliber of Cate Blanchett. “If I was the two-time Oscar winner, I’d hire a crack team to work around the clock to scrub all mention of it from the Internet. The film is that embarrassing,” writes Oleksinski. The critic was not moved on any level, writing that “everything about Borderlands is appalling: the acting, writing, direction, design.”

In his review for The Daily Beast , an exasperated Nick Schager headlines his piece with: “Cate Blanchett, what are you doing?” After a run of great video game adaptations, Schager is confident the streak ends with Borderlands . “Gearbox Software’s games were light on plot and heavy on action, and Roth doubles down on that formula to monotonous results,” writes Schager. “Lacking the emotional depth, narrative creativity, and witty humor of James Gunn’s beloved [ Guardians of the Galaxy ], Roth’s big-budget venture is propelled only by borrowed ideas and stale execution, both of which cause it to crash and burn in spectacular fashion.”

Writing in The New York Times , Amy Nicholson begins her review with questions over the co-writer of Borderlands , suggesting the mess of the film owed much to production problems. Nicholson shies away from excoriating the film totally, but was still left disappointed. “You can see the jokes, but most of them don’t land. Still, there is some neat design work if you squint,” Nicholson writes, adding that Blanchett was one of the few highlights: “The two-time Oscar winner endures the nonsense by carrying herself like a warrior on a kitschy propaganda poster.”

In another mixed review, Collider ‘s Taylor Gates felt Borderlands had some positives, including the performances of Ariana Greenblatt, Jack Black and Jamie Lee Curtis, but ultimately the flaws pull the film down. “ Borderlands is an action-adventure movie at its core, and it undoubtedly delivers on that front. The action — especially the hand-to-hand combat and more acrobatic fight choreography — is a blast,” writes Gates. “The film suffers when it comes to pacing, too. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to have a movie sit well under two hours — something the majority of films these days don’t seem to do — but the speed at which plotlines get resolved feels rushed instead of efficient, the breakneck pace sacrificing clarity and much-needed tension and stakes.”

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Using films to encourage reflection and critical thinking in your teaching

Noam Schimmel shares advice on how to leverage the pedagogical and emotive power of films to support your teaching

Noam Schimmel

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.css-1txxx8u{overflow:hidden;max-height:81px;text-indent:0px;} Can we really decolonise the university?

Universities need to act now to bridge the gen z gap, school visits are a triple-win for academics, schools and society, why visible senior leadership in sustainability matters, why the search for research funding is like romance.

Film can be a powerful tool in teaching. By presenting multiple perspectives in engaging and emotive ways, films can enable students to gain a better understanding of, and empathise with, the life experiences of individuals and communities far removed from their day-to-day reality.

Taking my teaching on human rights as an example, film powerfully depicts the life experiences of survivors of extreme human rights violations as well as the extraordinary human capacity for resilience and renewal. My students are often inspired by the actions of human rights defenders, who model great conscience, courage, tenacity and perseverance. Films can have a memorable impact where other teaching mechanisms might struggle.

Here, I explain how this medium can be used in tandem with other teaching materials to explore challenging concepts: empathy, activism, individual perspective and political context.

Use film to build students’ empathy     

To foster engagement with potentially overwhelming subject matter, consider using segments rather than showing a full-length feature film.

Girl Rising is a pedagogically powerful film on the rights of girls; I divide it into “country chapters” and assign one each week. Students expand their knowledge and empathic connection with each viewing, enabling them to critically engage with human rights topics that impact the lives of girls globally.

Each 15-minute segment is a self-contained narrative of a girl from Ethiopia, Haiti, Peru, Cambodia, Egypt, Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Nepal or India, illustrating human rights challenges such as child marriage, access to education and domestic violence, and responses to them.

After nine weeks, students have watched the full film and analysed and synthesised all the narratives. Students can explore the commonalities and differences in the personal stories and make connections between the individual experiences and the advancement of human rights.

Complement film with other media

Articles from media sources such as newspapers can be used to anchor core concepts presented in a film and to provide additional perspectives and context.

I accompany the film Taking Root: the Vision of Wangari Maathai , with articles by and about the human rights defender from sources such as the New York Times and the Guardian . The film illustrates the ways in which individuals and communities can mobilise to advance freedom and justice, and the articles help students see the broader picture.

Assignments for discussion and analysis

Asking students to write film reviews allows them to generate a personal commentary and perspective that is more descriptive and analytical. This synthesis helps deepen students’ understanding of the subject matter and films, as well as strengthening their skill in self-expression through writing.

Provide students with essay prompts on key themes. In my case, this could be practical policy responses to human rights violations or psychological and social sources of resilience among those surviving human rights violations. Essays of 3,000 to 4,000 words allow students to reflect on several films and the substantive issues they address.

Discussions in class and online enable students to bring the diversity of their life experiences into the learning environment. Students share and reflect upon experiences from work, volunteering, personal life, family and their own knowledge. These seminars are characterised by dynamic discussion that opens opportunities to delve further into the historical, cultural, social, economic and political aspects of human rights.

Provide information and brief three- to six-minute mini lectures that complement the opinions and perspectives offered by students. It also helps to signpost readings and other resources for students to explore beyond the course syllabus.

Film in the classroom and at home

Viewing a film together as a class in the classroom can be a powerful shared experience. That is how I screen most full-length feature films. But I also find students respond very well to watching some films at home, particularly shorter ones.

The chapter extracts from Girl Rising can be watched by students at home and serve as excellent springboards for seminar discussions. Shorter films available through New York Times Op-Docs and the Guardian Video section, for example, as well as short clips from NGOs can serve as an opening to class and offer an entry point to reflect on articles and books addressing related subjects and themes. An example might be There You Go by Survival International which, in just over two minutes, offers an ethical critique of development and its impact on indigenous and tribal peoples from a human rights perspective.

Emotionally distressing films and subjects

Films about human rights can be extremely distressing, ethically and emotionally. They often illustrate with graphic honesty and intensity, violence and severe human rights violations. For some students the films are shocking visually and in the topics they address. For others, the topic may be familiar but not the cinematographic depiction of it.

When selecting films, it is necessary to be mindful not to overwhelm students but also not to hide hard truths from them, which in the case of human rights can be a difficult balance. Make students aware of challenging thematic content and visual images of films. Where appropriate or relevant, share your own reactions to the films, and the ways in which they challenged you. This makes students aware that everyone can experience distressing emotions when viewing such films.

It is an effective way to acknowledge that many subjects have personal resonance, whether we are teachers or students. I emphasise the importance of being sensitive to the way films can touch upon intimate personal histories and contemporary experiences of difficult topics such as discrimination, exclusion, persecution and violence. Invite students to take breaks as needed, to speak to you after class, and email any questions, concerns or thoughts about the films and the issues they raise.

Try to present films that depict goodness, positivity or achievement as well as troubling or disturbing themes. I include films that illustrate examples of resilience, human rights activism and achievements that inspire hope grounded in past and ongoing successes. Students say that the inclusion of these films with their message of human rights possibility and realisation helps keep them emotionally anchored when it is easy to become unmoored by much of what we view.

Mix genres to build social, historical and political context

Drama and documentary can be viewed in tandem to access a range of perspectives and histories focused on a particular issue or event. In teaching about the Rwandan genocide against the Tutsi, I often screen three full-length films (see Additional Links):

Beyond the Gates tells the story of one Tutsi girl and her community at a school in Kigali before and during the genocide. It makes the enormity of the genocide clear while providing a focused and relatable reflection specific to one community. Based on historical fact, it avoids the Hollywood misrepresentations of the film Hotel Rwanda .

Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda is a PBS documentary featuring interviews and personal reflections, which provides students with extensive political, historical, legal and ethical commentary on the genocide and the complicity of so many world governments in it.

Finally, The Uncondemned illustrates the role of international criminal and human rights laws in advancing justice in Rwanda and prosecuting the crimes of genocide, sexual violence and rape by profiling lawyers, social activists and genocide survivors. This powerful film is a testimony to the power of survivors to seek and achieve a measure of justice and accountability.

My purpose as a teacher is not to provide a particular theoretical template for human rights and ultimate answers to students’ questions. It is to teach a plurality of perspectives in discussion and empower students to form their own opinions from the knowledge they acquire in class and beyond.

The films and other sources they are exposed to help provide them with a foundation for further study and reflection and may enable them to integrate human rights concerns into their lives as students, individuals and citizens. This same approach could be used across dozens of disciplines to encourage further analysis and engagement with the topics being studied.

Noam Schimmel is a lecturer in international and area studies at the University of California, Berkeley. 

If you would like advice and insight from academics and university staff delivered direct to your inbox each week,  sign up for the Campus newsletter .

Many films are available through local libraries, academic libraries and streaming services. The ones available free online are marked with an asterisk.

Girl Rising *

Taking Root: The Vision of Wangari Maathai

Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda * (PBS)

Beyond the Gates – also marketed as Shooting Dogs

The Uncondemned

There You Go *

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