Brilliant film about slave who mutiny, slaughter most of the crew and up in America where John Quincy Adams defends them. Really a sad tale, not only does it show the evil's of slavery, but the evil's of man against man and how evilly we can treat one another. Anthony Hopkins is absolutely stellar as Adams and the rest of the cast is excellent as well. Really should be required viewing, especially in today's climate.

I appreciate any movie that is willing to take an honest look at American slavery (I.E. not sugar-coat it with some revisionist "Gone With The Wind" BS), and if you're unfamiliar with the Amistad case, it's an interesting time in history. Anthony Hopkins's monologue at the climax is one of the best pieces of acting I've ever seen. My only rub is that all the courtroom stuff just seems to go on forever. I was a little disappointed that we saw so much of the white people arguing over the Africans and so little about the Africans themselves.That being said, the middle passage scene is the most heart-wrenching, realistic depiction probably ever shot. You can really understand just how horrific the experience must've been.Anyways, technically speaking, it's a great film. Check it out, but drink some coffee first, lest you fall asleep with all the courtroom jargon and "white savior" grandeur.

Amistad is a film about the 1839 mutiny that a bunch of slaves held whilst on board a ship that was heading from Havana to the northeast coast of America. The slaves hold a mutiny, but are subsequently captured and the slaves are sentenced to death for their crimes. The Spanish make the claim that the slaves belong to them and that they are legally their property, but the likes of lawyer Roger Baldwin (Matthew McConaughey), feels that there may be some holes in their argument and is determined that the slaves get the fair trial that they deserve.I always take films based on historical events with a pinch of salt as it's very rare that you'll come across one that is 100% truthful (I understand that 'artistic licence' comes into play quite a lot). If I am unfamiliar with the history involved with a film then I tend to ask myself one question; what effect did it have on me overall? Clearly with a score of 7 out of 10 I was fairly impressed...Spielberg doesn't hold back here and goes out of his way to make sure that we witness and feel the pain endured by the slaves; there are several moments in this film that are brutal and tough to watch. Many of the courtroom scenes are excellent as well, but this is mainly due to the many talented actors that were brought together here. Although the subject matter is treated seriously here, screenwriter Franzoni does inject some humorous moments into the film from time to time which I always feel is a nice touch. McConaughey is a Lawyer in this film, but he also has to turn detective here to try to learn more about those that he's representing and again this aspect of the story is engaging and quite amusing and complements the courtroom side of things well.Impressive production values and a good screenplay are nothing without the actors and what a cast we have here; Hopkins, Freeman, McConaughey and Hounsou were all superb here and really brought the story to life. If I was to single anyone out for praise it would be Hopkins who I think is one of the best actors around. Hounsou comes in a very close second and I personally think that he's one of the most underrated actors in the business - his performance here and in Blood Diamond is powerful and convincing.Casting a critical eye over this then there were a few things that bothered me; firstly I felt that the scene in the middle of the film where we essentially witness how the slaves were captured could have been used to start the film and then we could have just moved on to the mutiny after they leave Havana. It seemed odd to me that we had a long introduction at the start to set-up the Mutiny only to then have elements of it re-hashed later in the film. Combining the two elements at the start with some editing would have improved the overall structure of the film and would undoubtedly have reduced the rather generous running time. Secondly, when Baldwin needed some who could speak the language of the slaves,it seemed a little contrived that he happened to find an ex-slave who could speak their languages as well as being able to speak fluent English in the first place that he looked? It also doesn't show much from the perspective of The Spanish which is even more odd when you realise the impact that the verdict of the trial had on the Spanish several years after the trial.So yes there are some flaws here but it's a powerful film with an interesting story that was certainly worth telling. Those who enjoy historical dramas or Courtroom dramas would be well-advised to check this one out.

The story of the Le Amistad, a slave ship that was behind controversy of slave trade in the United States. I personally enjoyed the story-line of the movie. The historical aspect made it more interesting. I would give the movie a 7 out of 10. Although i enjoyed the story, the quality was lacking. There were a few scenes that i could barely hear the dialogue of the characters. The music sometimes drowned the out or the sounds of the surrounding environment. I can see this as an effect to make it feel more realistic. I had to turn the subtitles on to understand the English speaking characters. The African Speaking characters were usually subtitled. But there were some scenes where the African men were speaking without any subtitles. I could not understand what they were saying in those scenes. Overall this was a pretty good movie that i would recommend to a friend who enjoys historical movies.