Roman J. Israel, Esq.

Nowadays they will turn a story of any idiot fighting for the rights of not only black people into a movie for an Oscar nomination. Actually, the movie mirrors today’s situation in Hollywood. In a few years, nobody will remember this movie. (03/03/2018)

This is Dan Gilroy's second feature film, this time much less focused and precise than the first. Too bad, because Denzel Washington thoroughly enjoys this afro alternative idealistic lawyer, and, after all his gangsters and equalizers, it's quite fun to watch him in a rather uncharacteristic role of a stuttering obese weirdo, suffering from partial autism. However, he is used more as a solitaire than as a suitable supporting aspect of a story about good and evil, right living and legal ideology, vs uncompromising materialism and hypocrisy, both of which are displayed clearly, and that is never the case. Quite short-sighted and not even extremely entertaining and engaging. (17/02/2018)

I can't help but feel, while watching Roman J. Israel, Esq. that it was actually made for one reason only - for Denzel to show his mastery, which was confirmed, but unfortunately it didn't turn out to be a really good film, at least not in all respects. It's as if the other actors are extras and the setting is just a backdrop. (06/03/2018)

A film built on a single element (yes, you guessed it, Denzel Washington and his brilliant performance—without him, the film would have sunk into very murky waters in terms of quality). Dan Gilroy has shone before (I still remember Nightcrawler for making me think about human morality), and here, the film also deals with the idea of what line a person is willing to cross and where their metaphorical boundaries should lie. Initially, the film sets a low bar, with not much happening, the pace being frenziedly dull, and I didn’t even want to continue. In the second half, it finally gets into interesting drama, though at times the motivation and actions of the main character were elusive, and my mind struggled to grasp it. Denzel enjoys the role, and no matter what role he's given, he handles it excellently. Colin Farrell is truly underutilized; when you hire such a talent, you’d expect him to have a meatier role on screen. The film managed to tense the audience during a few moments, and it had some juice, but other than the lead actor's performance, I won't remember much else about it. I give it 63%. (07/04/2018)

I'm giving the film one star for Denzel Washington's performance, and the other one for the fact that there were a few moments that got me intrigued (namely three). I wonder why such an incredibly boring screenplay was written, why it was turned into an incredibly boring film, why the film has a two-hour running time, and why I wasted those two hours watching it. I don't think even Mulder and Scully could figure that out for me. (15/04/2018)