THE PLOT THUS FAR
An inspirational film about friendship, what really matters in life, and the absurdity of racism.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Rise Up Black Man” is nearly two and a half hours long. Seriously, there’s about an hour of material that could’ve been cut from this film and it would’ve still made sense. The two friends at the center of the movie are of Caucasian and African American descent. They pal around and try to beat away the negative effects of racism. However, it seems like no one in their lives can let them be themselves. Unfortunately, they also have loosely defined personal demons to tackle as well. It’s a Christian themed tale, so expect a lot of morals and a wee bit of preaching throughout the presentation.
It’s neat to see a film tackle issues of influence in the urban community. However, the soap opera level of acting makes it hard to take the issues seriously. I mean, there have been movies about street preachers and how they corrupt for ages. However, I haven’t seen anyone take on the bigger churches that exist within the urban/ethnic/African American communities. It’s like people forget that minorities have Mega Churches too. If anything, there’s a bigger story missed here, as the film tries to tackle so many subjects that it just turns into a jumble. Ultimately, the two friends rise up and become better people for the experience. It’s just that it takes 2 1/2 hours to get there. If this was a stage play, I could understand the length needed.
The DVD comes with no special features. The A/V Quality is strong enough for standard definition. The transfer is pretty flat, but it works. The same goes for the Dolby Stereo track. In the end, I’d recommend a rental or a stream.
RELEASE DATE: 09/23/2014