Judas and the Black Messiah

Judas and the Black Messiah

Bill O'Neal infiltrates the Black Panthers on the orders of FBI Agent Mitchell and J. Edgar Hoover. As Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton ascends—falling for a fellow revolutionary en route—a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul.

  • Released: 2021-02-12
  • Runtime: 126 minutes
  • Genre: Drama, History
  • Stars: Lakeith Stanfield, Daniel Kaluuya, Jesse Plemons, Dominique Fishback, Ashton Sanders, Algee Smith, Darrell Britt-Gibson, Lil Rel Howery, Dominique Thorne, Martin Sheen, Amari Cheatom, Ian Duff, Caleb Eberhardt, Robert Longstreet, Nick Fink, Nicholas Velez, Terayle Hill, Graham Lutes, Khris Davis, Amber Chardae Robinson, Ikechukwu Ufomadu, James Udom, Jermaine Fowler, Chris Hahn, Raymond Seay, Linda D Gaines
  • Director: Shaka King
 Comments
  • mieriks - 11 February 2024
    Powerful
    This movie, about William O'Neal who infiltrates the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party to gather intelligence on Chairman Fred Hampton, is a great history movie!

    It's powerful, telling its story in an authentic way, convincing us that its topics, like racism, blackmailing, violence, truth, and justice, matter for all people in all aspects and forms. The movie transmits its messages through the use of a great storyline, talented actors, a stunning cinematography, with nice color grading and a photographic sharpness, and an essential score. Despite that it may feel slow at times, it still manages to tell its story in an appealing way, reminding us of the most important topics in mankind.

    Powerful performances and visuals elevate this movie, despite pacing stumbles. This raw exploration of racism, justice, and betrayal resonates, reminding us these fights remain ever-present.
  • thebimp - 28 February 2023
    @sleepyratingscale
    This movie is currently streaming on HBOMax. It won 2 Oscars and Ryan Coogler had his hands on it so it was bound to be great. Both of the main actors were nominated for the Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role with British Ugandan actor Daniel Kaluuya ultimately winning. The movie centers around a true story of an FBI plot where an informant (Bill O'Neal played by LaKeith Stanfield) infiltrates an Illinois chapter of the Black Panther to gain intel on Chairman Fred Hampton (Mr. Kaluuya's character). You can tell both actors really put their all into the role. This story is the stuff they don't teach you in history class. Check it out!!
  • nlgthunder - 31 July 2022
    Powerful, important, eye-opening film
    Lakeith and Daniel give some amazing performances in this film. A lot of material and history is covered in 2 hours and I think this movie does a great job of showing it while telling the story. I learned a lot about the Black Panther movement from this, as well as about Fred Hampton and his very striking presence.
  • dudumnz - 27 March 2022
    A necessary class.
    Not just movie but a history class.

    And as a film it´s great, realistic, thrilling, touching actings are good, direction, script, screnplay, plot, everything seems legit.

    Thanks for this piece!
  • kelly-gaudreau - 2 January 2022
    Enthralled
    I was completely enthralled with the performances of Kaluuya and Stanfield. I also noticed that themes that the film was portraying was current as well as historical.