The Big Cigar: La gran fuga

On June 14th AppleTV+ released the finale of its 6-episode docudrama about one of the Black Panther Party's founding members, Huey P. Newton. The series is based on a book by Joshuah Bearman and was produced by Don Cheadle who even directed a couple episodes. The show follows Newton as escapes to exile in Cuba with the help of some film producers under guise of making a major motion picture titled The Big Cigar. The premise of the series seemed cool, and I was excited to learn more about the Black Panther Party.

To put it plainly, this was a perfectly forgettable series. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. I felt that the acting was good, especially by P. J. Byrne who I felt stole the show as one of the movie producers, and it was cool to learn about this piece of history. Unfortunately, I found the show as a whole to be on the boring side and gave it an overall rating of 6/10.

I'm not a young man... I only have a vague recollection of actual events surrounding Newton and the Panthers at that time. I was roughly 5-6 years old during the time period of this series.

This show was "created" by a white man younger than myself.. I think that's important to note. The series is approached as if it took place in 2014, not 1974 - as if Newton's story was a recent news topic, not history from 50 years ago. Do people younger than 20 have ANY real clue about Newton and the Panthers? People younger than 30? 40? And can a white man really do justice to a story about civil rights rebellion figures, even if it is well intentioned. It *seems* a bit exploitive to me.

The "set up" is severely lacking here. There's no backstory, no explanation of the turbulent time period or all the social turmoil that took place in the 60s-70s. There's no telling of the "basis" as to why Newton was sought after and persecuted. No explanation of the 10 years following the JFK and MLK assassinations. You know, the important aspect of Newton's story in terms of motivation.

This is a popcorn series, without any real substance, made for those that perhaps recall the late 1960s and early 1970s (septuagenarians) and don't need any explanation of American social issues at that time. It's not made for today's, much younger, audience.

Newton's story, as told here, has zero impact when interspersed with the attempt at some sort of "buddy series". The series goes from heavy drama portrayed as docudrama, but lacking any real impactful actual facts.... and light "buddy film" aspects with the producer character.

It's junk.

I did not find it entertaining on its own, and it is definitely not a fitting way to tell the story of an important figure in US Civil Rights history.

One of the things I love most about the various series created by Apple TV+ is uncovering gems like The Big Cigar that you might not normally see on other streaming services. This series is entertaining from start to finish. Even if you don't know anything about the Black Panther movement, the story of Huey P. Newton is fascinating. From the opening disclaimer, the viewer knows that this is basically Newton's version of the story, so if you're a stickler for 100% accuracy, you might not appreciate the liberties that have been taken. Nonetheless, this doesn't detract in any way from what is a great series. The acting is stellar from top to bottom, starting with Andrew Holland's standout performance as Newton. Despite the character's many flaws and often unlikeable attributes, Holland still manages to create empathy for Newton. Although the subject matter is mostly serious, The Big Cigar is often very humorous and there is enough action to keep the series moving along. Like me, even if this isn't a series you think would interest you, try watching it and you'll likely be hooked. This is great entertainment.

It's a really good show and more importantly, it's a perfect example of how inclusion SHOULD be done in Hollywood. You want more African American actors in the market; you don't do it lazily by (for example) turning Snow White or Cleopatra into a black person, no, you create a completely new character or make a movie about a famous/important real black person. It's not that complicated! "The Burial" is another good example of how the audience is not rejecting inclusion; the audience is rejecting FORCED and LAZY inclusion. Back to this series though, it was a great history class about the life of Huey Newton and his party. I knew nothing about the man or the party and can't pretend that I've been too curious about it in the past so the fact that it managed to make me binge watch it is impressive. On top of it all, I'm a professional hater! I'm hard to impress when it comes to TV shows! Chapeau!

A brilliant performance by Andre Holland. This is one of the best true stories I'd never heard before. Highly entertaining. Fast paced. Thought provoking. Don Cheadle brings all the 70s style and flair. The soundtrack is 10/10. It's an in depth, nuanced, unique portrayal of a revolutionary in crisis, at a crossroads, a complicated often misunderstood man grappling with his choices, his direction. Something we rarely see. The love story between Gwen and Huey is deep and emotional, highlighting the impact of women in the party. And if nothing else, it's an incredibly fun thing to binge. Strongly recommend. Don't miss out!