Clifton Johnson I get it: Lysistrata in modern day Chicago. But it feels like Spike needed to make some hard choices. Ancient Greek or Modern America? Both and? No. You end up with selective rhyming, female stereotypes and over-simplified gang violence...it failed as an adaptation, it failed as a realistic portrayal. So much unrealized potential here. West Side Story it is not.

Howlin Wolf I respect Lee's passionate polemic, but as a movie, it just didn't work for me... It's far too stylised for my taste. It's hard to be affected by genuine emotion, when almost everything is presented in the manner of a community outreach pageant."Do the Right Thing" still crackles with a freshness and vibrancy - but Chi-Raq sadly plays from the conscience of an old man, falling back upon fables to make a difference... Sorry Spike!

Michael_Elliott Chi-Raq (2015) ** 1/2 (out of 4) When a woman's (Jennifer Hudson) daughter is killed by a stray bullet, Lysistrata (Teyonah Parris) begins to rethink the situation in Chicago. Her boyfriend is the gangster/rapper Chi-Raq (Nick Cannon) and she wants him to put down the weapons. The town's other big gangster (Wesley Snipes) doesn't see the point so soon the mothers decide to team up and battle the gangsters themselves. How they going to bring peace? By refusing sex.Spike Lee's CHI-RAQ contains some really, really great moments and things but at the same time I honestly can't remember such a serious subject being tackled in such a rather silly way. After I was done viewing the movie I went and read several reviews on it and they were extremely mixed to say the least. Some called it a masterpiece. Some said it was one of the worst movies of the year. Others said people were misunderstanding the tone of the picture because it was meant to be a black comedy. A comedy? Really? I will start off with the great stuff. For starters, Lee does a tremendous job in the directing duties as he certainly handles the material in a terrific way and I'd argue he did a remarkable job considering the time and budget that he was working with. I'd also add that the cinematography was flawless and the soundtrack was great as well. The real shock for me was the excellent performance by Cannon who really does give a "movie star" performance here. I mean, I was really shocked at how wonderful he was in this role and he made the character rather fearful yet when it came time to show the heart, the actor did a fabulous job. John Cusack was also strong in his role as was Snipes, Parris and Angela Bassett. Samuel L. Jackson is also good playing Dolmedes.Now, for the flaws. For the life of me I couldn't understand why the Lysistrata and Dolmedes thing was used. Yes, it turns the material into a musical and it gives the subject a rather fresh and original take but why was it needed? The film is a very political one and it really does beat the viewer over the head with the subject matter of blacks killing blacks but is this a way to get through to anyone? The film takes on a dark subject but I just couldn't help but think that it took an easy way out by not really giving any real answers. With holding sex? Really? I wish the screenplay had been done in a different fashion and the political message also got way off track and really derailed the film towards the end.CHI-RAQ is a film that I greatly admired at times but at other times I really thought it was a misfire. Lee deserves credit for tackling the subject and he deserves credit for trying to tell the story in a different way but in the end the two things just didn't mix too well.

johngriffin0928 Spike Lee and Kevin Willmot have taken Aristophanes' hilarious Lysistrata and turned it into a phantasmagoria of satire and heartache that asks some important questions about America's fixation with firearms and sex -- and all in rhymed couplets. When the women of Chicago go on a sex strike to protest the out-of-control violence of their city, Lee fills the screen with some indelible images and more creativity than most films of 2015. He's also blessed with an amazing cast, from the empowering Teyonash Parris as Lysistrata to Jennifer Hudson as a mother who loses her child to gang violence.Lee is the most adventurous and gifted director working in America right now. Chi-Raq is ample proof of that.