Idris Elba takes on the role of Nelson Mandela in the new biopic "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom," and critics are not particularly impressed by the film.
According to multiple reviewers, the film tries to take on too many of the achievements Mandela accomplished during his lifetime, glazing over the former president's story instead of diving in to it.
Check out what critics had to say about "Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom" below. The film is out now in a limited theater release.
USA Today gives the film 2.5 stars out of 4 stars:
"Earnest and ambitious, the film suffers from trying to squeeze in too many milestones of Nelson Mandela's long life as he worked to end the oppressive regime of apartheid in South Africa. But the talent of the lead actors lends it heft, particularly the commanding performance of Idris Elba as Mandela."
"...As it is based on the subject's autobiography, Mandela should be more than well-meaning. But what ends up on the screen lacks the shading and complexity one would expect of the story of the 95-year-old South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and former president."
IGN calls the film "okay," giving in a 6.8 out of 10:
"Idris Elba is a gifted actor unable to hone in to one aspect of his iconic character. Director Justin Chadwick goes all in on the performance without an angle to challenge it. Long Walk of Freedom is the Mandela show, for better or worse."
RottenTomatoes.com users certified the movie fresh with a 64 percent approval rating:
"Bit of a shame that a man who looms so large in the hearts and minds of so many has been packed neatly away into a film that is handsome, respectable, and just a tad stodgy," MaryAnn Johanson wrote, Flick Filosopher.
"This isn't an experimental narrative that knows we know the story, and so skips over key details. It's a failed traditional biopic that feasts on our time and sends the ignorant to Wikipedia anyway," Matt Prigge wrote, Metro.
