Blindspotting

Though Blindspotting has its cliche moments, overall it's an important film tackling race relations and gentrification in America. The chemistry and genuine camaraderie between writers/stars Diggs and Casal is at the heart of this film.

This film is as real as it gets on the streets. Excellent directing, outstanding acting, perfect score (although near the end I thought I was watching a rap video) and great writing, except for the ending that I felt was a little underwhelming. 8/10 from me

There are a lot of films that attempt different social issues but most seem forced and preaching. Blindspotting is organic and has such a real texture.

I've read some of the other reviews and none of them understand the characters in the film are very real. If you have ever lived in the bay, you know these people are real. Everything in the film comes from natural situations that happen without forcing it down your throat and show how one thing can lead to another. I've watched it multiple times and shown countless people and not a single person walked away from the film not blown away

"Blindspotting" follows the story of an ex-convict living out his last month of probation. And with his childhood friend regularly getting into trouble, staying clean proves difficult. But after witnessing something terrible, he carries on, walking the streets of Oakland, playing the same scene in his mind over, and over again. Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal create the perfect friendship in this film, showing their support for one another, even through the hard times. This movie showcases amazing cinematography, dialogue, and humour; deals with the topic of racial tension and shows how each character bears that in their own way

While in the theaters for another movie I saw a trailer for Blindspotting and thought, "This looks OK. Nothing special just OK." Then sometime later I saw a second trailer and thought, "Hmmm, this looks like something I may want to watch." I'm so glad I watched it.

The movie is incredible. Now, a little disclaimer: I definitely gave it a star or two more for being Oakland based and Oakland themed. And it wasn't simply that Oakland, California was the backdrop, no! It was thoroughly Oakland from the soundtrack, to the BART train, to the big wheel bikes, the big rim scrapers, the neighborhoods, and of course the A's, the Warriors, and the Raiders. Blindspotting definitely appeals to the Bay Area niche but it also has a larger universal appeal for anyone living in an urban area.

This movie was so well written, directed, and acted--they hit the trifecta. The center focus was the two main characters, Collin (Daveed Diggs), who is an African-American male on probation and Miles (Rafael Casal), who is a white male that is Collin's best friend and a bit of a loose canon. The dynamics between them was so fascinating and illustrated so well: a black man trying to be straight and having to be extra careful and a white man who is almost completely reckless yet not having the same fears.

But the movie tackled more than that. It covered gentrification, police brutality, living as a black felon and living as a white male who's just a product of his environment. It deftly handled all of these sensitive and delicate topics without offending the sensibilities or coming off trite. There was some powerful imagery, some powerful situations and even more powerful dialogue. The script was clever, intelligent and so spot on. Blindspotting is Oakland's Do the Right Thing, or Boyz n the Hood, or even more appropriate--Good Will Hunting.

This has been the best movie I've seen this year and that's saying a lot. I hope the writers, Daveed Diggs and Rafael Casal, get their due recognition as well as the director Carlos Lopez Estrada. This movie could not have been easy to pull off and I think they all did a magnificent job.