Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

XoWizIama Excellent adaptation.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

JohnnyWeissmuller Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a film that's certainly sincere, well-intentioned and does make for a good tribute to the life of Nelson Mandela, especially with such a charismatic lead in Idris Elba. There's also a good feeling for the sixties during the early parts of the film, where Mandela, as a young lawyer in South Africa, trains, marries, cheats on his wife and becomes involved in politics through his position as a lawyer. Unfortunately, some events and people are written so thinly that we barely get to appreciate much that's going on around Mandela, as his presence is so very central to the story that other characters become one dimensional or quickly skimmed over as the story leaps forward almost episodically. Elba was certainly well cast as Mandela, whom he plays with strength, conviction, sincerity and with the physicality of the man, both bodily and verbally. When he speaks, it's with truth and a real sense of integrity. This is matched by the spark in Naome Harris's portrayal of Winnie Mandela, whose character isn't brilliantly written, but does provide a contrast with Madeba and opportunity to focus the narrative elsewhere. This soon adds touches of poignancy when Mandela is incarcerated on Robben Island and the emotions of husband, wife, father and mother become present amidst the racial turmoil. But with so much scope and ambition in a story that spans several decades, it's credit to the performances and the intention of the film that it does make an emotional connection. And whilst the final act is a more stately affair, with the employment of vintage footage adding both filler and a touch of realism, it's Elba who continues to engage as the elder Mandela, even if his tremendous physicality occasionally betrays him. And whilst this was a commendable project made with sincere intentions, it's Elba who holds the film together and makes up for the shortcomings of a narrative that's too by the numbers.

jpdhadfield i read the book, the long walk to freedom,over ten years ago, in almost one sitting, and i can still remember most of it, so when i watched the film,i wasn't disappointed, Idris Elba does a wonderful job.as always. i wont write long paragraphs, as who reads them, i know i don't, but if your interested in Nelson Mandela, this is the film for you, it covers all of his life, the struggle against apartheid, his prison time and freedom i would recommend this film to anybody,it has everything a great story should have, some parts i was in tears, almost sobbing, others i was so happy, i could have shouted out loud 'free Nelson Mandela', an amazing man who sacrificed a large part of his life to South Afrika.

ma-cortes This is an insightful biography about great leader Nelson Mandela who was a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary, politician and philanthropist . He was leader of the African National Congress, who has been imprisoned since 1963 for allegedly inciting riots against the government. As he spend long time in prison amidst tight economic sanctions by the international community, and growing unrest by the natives who continue their fight for equality, and freedom for Nelson Mandela. Amongst mounting international pressure to free Nelson, as well as imposition of crippling economic sanctions, the South African government representative meets with Nelson and agrees to free him . One time freed Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He was South Africa's first black chief executive, and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid through tackling institutionalised racism, poverty and inequality, and fostering racial reconciliation. Politically an African nationalist and democratic socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1991 to 1997. Internationally, Mandela was Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999.This is an enjoyable biopic about Mandela's life , an emotive journey from his boyhood by means of flashbacks in a rural village , his imprisonment through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa . The picture has some strong moments as police cruelty on civilians as well security officers' brutality against people , including women , and infants . There's enough background information to give the spectator a taste of what South African life was like under apartheid, detailing hard confrontations , violent environment , fear and tension . The flick describes perfectly a great man who could have lived in bitterness and anger all his existence , seeking vengeance when he ultimately achieved power, but who instead chose to devote himself to democracy and peaceful reconciliation between blacks and whites in South Africa . The main actors , Idris Elba and Naomi Harris give awesome interpretation and the story was professionally directed by Justin Chadwick . Any film that concerns Nelson Mandela is a picture worth watching in my opinion and this one results to be one of the best . Worthwhile seeing for historical characters buffs . Other films based on this historical figure are the followings : ¨Mandela¨ (1987) by Philip Saville with Danny Glover , Alfre Woodward , Warren Clarke , Julian Glover ; ¨Mandela and De Clerk¨ (1997 )by Joseph Sargent with Sidney Poitier and Michael Caine ; ¨Goodbye Bafana¨ (2007) by Billie August with Dennis Haysbert ,Joseph Fiennes , Diane Kruger and ¨Winnie¨ by Darrel Root with Jennifer Hudson , Terrence Howard , Elias Koteas . The picture was well based on real events and characters whose screenplay was faithfully written by William Nicholson upon Nelson Mandel's autobiography : As Mandela or Xhosa born to the Thembu royal family, Mandela attended the Fort Hare University and the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law. Living in Johannesburg, he became involved in anti-colonial politics, joining the ANC and becoming a founding member of its Youth League. After the Afrikaner minority government of the National Party established apartheid in 1948, he rose to prominence in the ANC's 1952 Defiance Campaign, was appointed superintendent of the organisation's Transvaal chapter and presided over the 1955 Congress of the People. Working as a lawyer, he was repeatedly arrested for seditious activities and, with the ANC leadership, was unsuccessfully prosecuted in the Treason Trial from 1956 to 1961. Influenced by Marxism, he secretly joined the South African Communist Party (SACP) and sat on its Central Committee. Although initially committed to non-violent protest, in association with the SACP he co-founded the militant Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) in 1961, leading a sabotage campaign against the apartheid government. In 1962, he was arrested, convicted of conspiracy to overthrow the state, and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Trial. Mandela served 27 years in prison, initially on Robben Island, and later in Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. An international campaign lobbied for his release, which was granted in 1990 amid escalating civil strife. Mandela joined negotiations with Nationalist President F. W. De Klerk to abolish apartheid and establish multiracial elections in 1994, in which he led the ANC to victory and became South Africa's first black president. He published his autobiography in 1995. During his tenure in the Government of National Unity he invited other political parties to join the cabinet, and promulgated a new constitution. He also created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. While continuing the former government's liberal economic policy, his administration also introduced measures to encourage land reform, combat poverty, and expand healthcare services. Internationally, he acted as mediator between Libya and the United Kingdom in the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing trial, and oversaw military intervention in Lesotho. He declined to run for a second term, and was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela became an elder statesman, focusing on charitable work in combating poverty and HIV/AIDS through the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Mandela was a controversial figure for much of his life. Denounced as a communist terrorist by critics, he nevertheless gained international acclaim for his activism, having received more than 250 honours, including the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, the US Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the Soviet Order of Lenin. He is held in deep respect within South Africa, where he is often referred to by his Xhosa clan name, Madiba, or as Tata ("Father"); he is often described as the "Father of the Nation".

alindsay-al Now I think Biopics can be a mixed bag as they sometimes can be boring and long winded but this film is great and truly encapsulates the true problems that Mandela and South Africa truly went through during the time period. This story documents the journey of Nelson Mandela as he attempts to battle racism in some trying circumstances. Now Idris Elba is easily one of the best actors working in Hollywood today and he becomes Nelson Mandela with his performance being mesmerising and one of the most impressive performances there has been in a biopic ever. Naomie Harris plays his wife and she does a fantastic job in her role with her character having a much bigger role then I originally expected and her character took some directions that were not expected but great. However, I believe they could have used the rest of the cast more affectively in their roles that would have added the tension with other characters. The story is pretty epic obviously with this being the story of Mandela's life and the opening parts and the jail part of the film being really interesting but I do wish they had spent more time on the political problems and when Mandela finally gets the power to make change. The script is great with the exchanges between Elba and Harris being great and all the lines delivered by those two are superb. The style of the film is also really good with the director really willing to show graphic things that really added to the drama in the film. Overall this is a really good film that gives Mandela Justice.