Light It Up

A tough little hostage thriller with crackling dialogue, surprising intelligence and an emotional wallop.

Heartbreaking and sometimes dazzlingly effective, the film still has flaws -- most of them in a too-often-maudlin script.

Unexpectedly satisfying feel-good agitprop.

The passionate and carnivalesque sense of politics reminded me at times of "Dog Day Afternoon," but despite the absence of cynicism this is a 90s story in every sense of the word

Benefits from affecting performances from a gifted cast headed by R&B heartthrob Usher Raymond.

The story is irresponsible and the filmmaking is awful.

As an actor, Raymond is whiny and annoying, but not nearly so much as the film.