Chi-Raq

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Chi-Raq

R

Released Dec 4, 2015

2h 7m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

82%

Tomatometer

152 Reviews

53%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

The girlfriend (Teyonah Parris) of a Chicago gang leader (Nick Cannon) persuades other frustrated women to abstain from sex until their men agree to end the senseless cycle of violence.

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Critics Consensus

Chi-Raq is as urgently topical and satisfyingly ambitious as it is wildly uneven -- and it contains some of Spike Lee's smartest, sharpest, and all-around entertaining late-period work.

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Lori Ro

Bitch Media

Messy and nauseating.

Feb 9, 2021

Full Review

Adam Nayman

The Ringer

Everything about Chi-Raq exudes exuberance: the movement of the camera; the West Side Story-style choreography of the two rival factions; the delight the actors display in tearing into their dialogue.

Aug 9, 2018

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K. Austin Collins

Los Angeles Review of Books

This is no mere thought experiment. Can satire stop a bullet? Likely not. But it can provoke those of us who haven't, and can.

Aug 9, 2017

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Carla Renata

The Curvy Film Critic

Lee always keeps it real and cast actors who are not only at the top of their game, but physically reflective of the people of color I see when I walk out my front door. Written in Greek fable prose with ingenious quips - it's well worth the journey

Jul 24, 2024

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Jeffrey Peterson

Indie Film Minute

Viewers have criticized Spike’s film because of the director’s more recent turn away from commercial film, but I sense that he finds that the violent world around us cannot be ignored.

Sep 1, 2023

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Jordan Brooks

Vague Visages

Profoundly funny, shocking, sad and ultimately inspiring, Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq is the rude awakening that America needs to get it together...

Aug 1, 2023

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TINA B

Brilliant re-telling of Lysistrata using today's urban issues. Saw it when it came out, and half the audience was in tears by the end. Definitely underrated by the public.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/15/24

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Alec B

Essentially the problem is that the film clumsily moves between very broad (and mostly unfunny) comedy and really earnest emotional pleas for change without any consistency. It's hard to fault Lee too much for trying something so bold, but this movie simply doesn't work.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/14/23

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steve d

I normally love Spike Lee's writing. This one just didn't land for me.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

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Audience Member

While Spike Lee's anger, passion, and overall message are admirable, coming across authentic and justified, it is rare that these updated retellings of historical works actually work for me. There was some dialogue I felt quite deeply and other spells that totally lost me, but the concept of portraying the violence in Chicago by retelling the classic Lysistrata made for quite a creative exercise. I had no previous experience with the Lysistrata but even if the film wasn't always hitting the right notes for me it is hard not to feel emotions when forced to consider all the innocent people still dying from this senseless violence. Samuel L. Jackson Binge: This wasn't a large role for Jackson in screen time, but it was important and memorable as he acted as a quasi narrator, setting up many of the scenes or explaining the relative intermittent action taking place off screen. His delivery was epic, as he often spoke in classical verse, dialing up the carefree confidence that makes him so well loved. SLJ January #60

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Rich S

Spike Lee had high aspirations in this film. It's supposed to give us world peace and jobs for everybody by the time the final accord is signed. It's a great dream and one we must have thought at some point was shared by all. But it's fairly evident now that it isn't and it wasn't.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/23/21

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Audience Member

wished I'd seen it sooner. agree that it's uneven. The original was pure comedy and so this one's comedy, when injected, causes the unevenness. i was impressed with the very very end's plot twist, which I found clever and hadn't seen coming, but then realized there had been fore shardowing, and actually made a lot of sense.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/28/23

Full Review

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Spike Lee

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Nick Cannon

Chi-Raq

Wesley Snipes

Cyclops

Teyonah Parris

Lysistrata

Jennifer Hudson

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Steve Harris

Ole Duke

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Chi-Raq: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

The girlfriend (Teyonah Parris) of a Chicago gang leader (Nick Cannon) persuades other frustrated women to abstain from sex until their men agree to end the senseless cycle of violence.

Director: Spike Lee
Producer: Spike Lee
Screenwriter: Kevin Willmott, Spike Lee
Distributor: Roadside Attractions
Production Co: 40 Acres & A Mule Filmworks, Amazon Studios
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use|Strong Sexual Dialogue|Nudity|Some Violence|Strong Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 4, 2015, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 4, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.6M
Runtime: 2h 7m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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