One Night in Miami: Bop or Flop?

*image from collider.com

Historical Drama, 1 hr 54 min, R

Director: Regina King

What’s it about? On the night of Feb. 25, 1964, in Miami, Cassius Clay joins Jim Brown, Sam Cooke and Malcom X, and they discuss the responsibility of being successful black men during the civil rights movement.

Lovers of history and deep conversations on race will enjoy this movie.

Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

Bop or Flop? One Night in Miami is a certified BOP, because it tells an important story and dives into the influences each of these men had on our culture and why. At the same time, it humanizes Malcolm X, which is something American history usually fails to do. Those who already love him will find themselves more endeared by him and those who don't like him can learn new things about him.

The film also goes into detail about how Sam Cooke's "A Change Gone Come" came to be (and Leslie Odom's singing is chef's kiss). This is a very important film, that ultimately reminds us that Black Americans have come a long way on our path to equality, yet the conversations in the film still remain relevant in 2021 as it is still considered taboo for some artists to speak out against social injustice.

Every actor was on point in this movie, and Regina King had powerful visuals. I predict a pool of nominations for actors Leslie Odom (who played Sam Cooke), Kingsley Ben-Adir (who played Malcolm X), and Best Director noms for Regina King.

One Night in Miami was released on Dec. 25, 2020 and is streaming now on Amazon Prime.