User Reviews

"Moses the Black" is a mishandled mix **** member's redemption story and religious preaching faith and vengeance in Chicago's Ganglands. Serbian filmmaker Yelena Popovic onboards a couple of black entertainers as stars, alongside seasoned actor Omar Epps, for an embracing yet no less dark film whose message won’t fade. The two aspects of this rambling drama are disjointed throughout this very boring movie with a weak ending. A paroled Chicago gangster hellbent on vengeance has a religious awakening as the body count rises in Moses the Black. Themes of retribution versus compassion and penance are clumsily handled in a poorly edited film with one-note performances, scant surprises, and a bizarre flashback structure. That said, writer-director Yelena Popovic does accurately capture certain elements of urban gang culture that always lead to escalating violence. Her portrayal of social media as an instigator that fans the flames of criminality and murder isn't fiction, but a cruel reality that decimates impoverished Black communities. In 405 A.D. Egypt, a monk weeps over bloody corpses strewn across a rocky desert landscape. The narrative then cuts to present day Chicago with Malik (Omar Epps) being released from prison. He's immediately met outside the gates by a black Land Rover. Malik is given his gold watch as he settles in the backseat for the drive back to his West Side neighborhood, where he reigns as a powerful gang leader. Malik is taken to a tattoo shop where his old girlfriend Azziza (Kiera Bunch) starts a massive tattoo of the world on his back. It's indicative of his struggle and his belief that he must correct wrongs or no one else will. The next stop is a boxing gym, where his top lieutenant, Mike (Corey Hendrix), a devout Christian who has run the gang's drug business in Malik's absence, and 2wo 3ree (Wiz Khalifa), his top street enforcer, have valuable intelligence waiting. They know who killed his best friend Sayeed (Sambou Camara). Later that night, at dinner with his grandmother (Jacqueline Williams), Malik praises her for doing the best she could to raise him. The way he turned out wasn't her fault, but Nanna doesn't accept his fate as a sinner. She passes him a card of St. Moses the Black (Chukwudi Iwuji), a Nubian robber who found salvation in Christ and was redeemed by God. Popovic (L.A. Superheroes, Man of God) mirrors Malik's journey of faith with the story of Moses the Black in flashbacks. Malik is consumed by the loss of Sayeed, who didn't do drugs or consume alcohol, but had no issue settling bloody debts for the gang. Malik initially believes that they're soldiers in a battle for the streets and that casualties are a paid price. This brutal outlook doesn't last long, as he hears the voice of Moses warning against the path of darkness. Popovic quotes from the Bible as Malik begins to see that only righteousness and mercy can stem the tide of blood. Malik questions how Mike can be a believer in Christ and continue to be an integral part of the gang. This is a troubling question that's bluntly explored as weighty Christian themes aren't handled with sophistication. Epps and Hendrix are fine actors, but their dialogue never gets to the root of this spiritual conflict. It's like they're saying words for the audience, but not comprehending anything between them. Popovic is trying to show a cognitive dissonance between what the protagonists know is right and how their actions contradict morality. This could have been narrative gold, but the script never succeeds in fulfilling its faith-driven ambitions. is also limited by amateurish editing choices. You can easily see where multiple scenes were shot in the same setting and then spliced together in post-production. There's no cinematic flow as constant cuts to an overhead train breaking up the action become rote and predictable. There's also awkward timing with how Moses the Black is intercut with Malik's exposition and eventual climactic religious turn. We get snippets of Iwuji, an actor with tremendous range who never gets to show the depth of his performance. It's disjointed and hamstrings the cause-and-effect connection shared by Malik and Moses. We understand why they embraced selflessness instead of hate; it's just heavy-handed and honestly doesn't look good. One supporting character is egregiously problematic and overblown to comically bad effect. Cliff Chamberlain co-stars as Jerry, a crooked cop who's perennially tweaking, sports a do-rag, and rages like a cursing toddler trying to get a toy back. He plays the stereotypical Caucasian puppet master pulling the strings of Black demise in ludicrous interactions that make no sense whatsoever. Overall, "Moses the Black" has no curiosity about its characters beyond how they fit the mold of St. Moses’ story. Too literal to be moving and too sloppy to be compelling, is undone by an overly ambitious plot, shaky performances, rough cinematography, and questionable dialogue.

An ambition movie from the director Yelena Popovic, Moses the Black attempts to give a modern retelling of the ancient Christian monastic and martyr with an earnest effort, but with mixed results. The acting is overall solid, and Christian themes of martyrdom and loving sacrifice are presented in a respectful, but not preachy manner. Likewise, the movie doesn't shy away from explicit language and scenes of violence despite being a "Christian film". That being said, the pacing of the story and watcher's understanding of the characters leaves much to be desired. Popovic's other work, Man of God, suffered a similar criticism of not providing enough background information on characters. Unfortunately, this film suffers much the same where characters which are seemingly important to the story are given little to no backstory. The lack of fleshed out characters makes it hard to think of the saint - who was a real person - feel like anything more than a storybook character. For being the sophomore work of Popovic, this film does leave a lot to be desired, but I do appreciate her efforts to present the concepts of martyrdom and reconciliation in a manner not seen in many other Christian films.