Roots (2016)

Throughout, this new Roots is great entertainment, full of action and romance, an engrossing yarn about people who feel very real and relatable. But just as the original “Roots” had a powerful emotional impact on Americans, the new one is likely to do so as well, especially given that questions of race are at the forefront of discussion as much now as ever.

It's still a gripping story, convincingly performed.

History’s new vision of Roots justifies its existence almost immediately, reinforcing its worthiness through amazing performances and a tweaked narrative that puts more focus on the interior lives of the slaves.

Overall, the remake, whose producers include Mr. Burton and Mark M. Wolper (whose father, David L. Wolper, produced the original “Roots”), ably polishes the story for a new audience that might find the old production dated and slow.

An hour or so into the new version, as we see Mandinka warrior Kunta Kinte (Malachi Kirby), so recently a free man, shackled in the hold of a slave ship, it becomes clear that the current version doesn’t have to best the original to be worthwhile.

It is packed with towering performances that boldly and magnificently reinterpret characters who have become part of our national folklore.

A slickly streamlined and impeccably cast reinterpretation. [23 May-3 Jun 2016, p.14]