Now Playing
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search

Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

sort by name

sort by score

38 12 Rounds
48 17 Again
76 Adventureland
48 Angels & Demons
54 Battle for Terra
xx Bruno
80 Coraline
40 Dance Flick
83 Drag Me to Hell
72 Earth
45 Fast & Furious
61 Fighting
34 Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
72 Gran Torino
73 Hangover, The
47 Hannah Montana: The Movie
51 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
54 Imagine That
41 Knowing
32 Land of the Lost
56 Monsters vs. Aliens
34 My Life in Ruins
51 My Sister's Keeper
46 Next Day Air
42 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
54 Observe and Report
25 Obsessed
48 Proposal, The
70 Public Enemies
61 Soloist, The
83 Star Trek
64 State of Play
55 Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, The
52 Terminator Salvation
35 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen
77 Under the Sea 3D
88 Up
43 X-Men Origins: Wolverine
34 Year One

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

sort by name

sort by score

67 $9.99
75 24 City
66 Adoration
74 Afghan Star
48 Alien Trespass
56 American Violet
82 Anvil! The Story of Anvil
57 Away We Go
81 Beaches of Agnes, The
62 Big Man Japan
28 Big Shot-Caller, The
78 Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story, The
55 Brothers Bloom, The
82 Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country
xx Call of the Wild
63 Cheri
62 Cherry Blossoms
63 Dead Snow
65 Departures
18 Downloading Nancy
58 Easy Virtue
70 End of the Line, The
77 Every Little Step
64 Examined Life
80 Food, Inc.
38 Gigantic
56 Girl from Monaco, The
67 Girlfriend Experience, The
87 Gomorrah
89 Goodbye Solo
63 Great Buck Howard, The
79 Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
xx Home
82 Hunger
91 Hurt Locker, The
16 I Hate Valentine's Day
81 Il Divo
54 Is Anybody There?
71 Jerichow
58 Julia
74 Lemon Tree
36 Life is Hot in Cracktown
40 Limits of Control, The
42 Little Ashes
64 Lymelife
50 Management
57 Merry Gentleman, The
66 Moon
35 New York
62 Not Forgotten
xx Offshore
78 O'Horten
64 Outrage
40 Paris 36
54 Pontypool
71 Pressure Cooker
52 Quiet Chaos
83 Revanche
67 Rudo y Cursi
86 Seraphine
65 Sex Positive
70 Shall We Kiss?
77 Sin Nombre
59 Sleep Dealer
74 Song of Sparrows, The
54 Stoning of Soraya M., The
82 Sugar
84 Summer Hours
61 Sunshine Cleaning
28 Surveillance
42 Tennessee
63 Tetro
64 Throw Down Your Heart
80 Tokyo Sonata
63 Tokyo!
70 Tony Manero
74 Treeless Mountain
88 Tulpan
74 Two Lovers
83 Tyson
83 U2 3D
60 Under Our Skin
69 Unmistaken Child
69 Valentino: The Last Emperor
22 What Goes Up
45 Whatever Works
57 Youssou Ndour: I Bring What I Love

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Antwone Fisher
Fox Searchlight Pictures


8.9

based on 32 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 46 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

FILM:

The Great Debaters

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for violence, language and mature thematic material involving child abuse

Starring Derek Luke, Joy Bryant, Denzel Washington, Salli Richardson, Earl Billings, Kevin Connolly, Viola Davis, and Rainoldo Gooding

The story of a man who digs inside himself to discover therein lies a king...A sailor with an explosive attitude, Fisher (Luke) is ordered to see a naval psychiatrist (Washington) about his volatile temper. Little did he know that his first step into the doctor's office would lead him on a journey home. (Fox Searchlight)

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Antwone Fisher
DIRECTED BY:	Denzel Washington
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: May 20, 2003 Video: May 20, 2003 Theatrical: December 19, 2002
RUNNING TIME:	113 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

A deceptively simple movie with a deeply felt message.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Antwone Fisher has a confrontation with his past, and a speech to the mother who abandoned him, and a reunion with his family, that create great, heartbreaking, joyous moments.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Emotionally honest, feel-good saga with a universality that stands out in a season of singularly depressing and cynical Hollywood product.

Chicago Tribune Mark Caro

Washington, typically, is rock-solid in front of the camera, conveying ample warmth and sympathy. Behind the camera, he's a relatively straightforward storyteller, strategic in his use of lyrical touches.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold

Washington brings it off with an unforced and well-earned emotional wallop, and whose strong hand, keen eye, sweet spirit and good taste are reflected in almost every scene.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

The film offers an impressive melding of quietly radical images and ideas with, yes, an old-fashioned, crowd-pleasing holiday tearjerker.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

An assured directorial debut that goes straight for the tear ducts.

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Blessedly free of the self-righteous histrionics and sentimentality that so often cheapen powerful personal stories.

Boston Globe Wesley Morris

Corny. But it's corny in a way that a Hollywood movie about a boy who just wants to go home ought to be corny. Plus when it's done with this much care, corny works for me.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

There are a few occasions when Antwone Fisher crosses the line to become too syrupy -- For the most part, however, the production radiates emotional honesty.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The rare sort of movie that gives predictability a good name.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

The uniformly fine performances are a tribute to Washington, who plays the shrink with his customary command.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

A good film that, with a little extra care, could have been great.

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

Intense but dignified.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Rarest and most impressive of all, Antwone Fisher is a serious drama set in the African American community, one that showcases powerful, confrontational scenes between black actors.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

A movie so profoundly in touch with its own feelings that it transcends its formulaic tics.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

If treats like this are evidence of Washington's special gifts as a filmmaker, Antwone Fisher promises great things for the future.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

With all its pedestrian moments, the film still has the power to sweep you up.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

A safety-first, tried-and-true inspirational story that stays the course right down to its "It's a Wonderful Life" ending.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Denzel Washington's directorial debut reminds me of a 60s British movie called "The Mark": it's liberal minded, heartwarming, sincere, and consequently somewhat old-fashioned and stodgy.

Variety Eddie Cockrell

Washington reveals himself to be a filmmaker with a clean, uncluttered storytelling style. Too often, overtly inspirational material such as this can become strident or mawkish.

TV Guide Steve Simels

But there's a vaguely self-congratulatory tone to the screenplay that's a bit off-putting.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

Affecting but formulaic.

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

Should be remembered for a pair of performers -- Derek Luke and Viola Davis, whose cameo as the mother who abandoned him cuts through the sap like an acetylene torch.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Rick Groen

This is the brand of sentimentality that comes with a high concentration of saccharine and every taste of bitterness safely removed.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Has warmth and integrity, but it lacks the urgency of a story that had to be told.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Although it's touching and sincere, Washington's directorial debut is weakened by a too-slow pace and a story that offers few real surprises.

Salon.com Charles Taylor

There's nothing in either the conception or execution to lift it above a TV-movie tear-jerker.

Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson

In the hands of lesser mortals, this would add up to perhaps the worst movie of the year. In the hands of Denzel Washington, it manages to work magic on some who might not tolerate such shenanigans from, say, Chris Columbus.

Film Threat Rick Kisonak

A competently calibrated feel-good machine. It's as effective as anything on The Lifetime Channel. Which is likely where this project would have wound up were it not for the involvement of Washington.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

Washington directs with proficient blandness charged only occasionally by organic acting moments.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Directed without a shred of imagination by Denzel Washington -- Antwone Fisher masks a behind-the-scenes story that's far more inspiring than the phony uplift that makes it onto the screen.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 46 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Tim J. gave it a10:
This movie was amazing.

Ff w. gave it a9:
Excellent movie...inspirational...especially at the conclusion.

Livi K. gave it a9:
I great movie, about finding yourself though others. And changing your view on life.

Pat C. gave it a9:
Slightly claustrophobic, but otherwise a real gem. It is always a pleasure to watch a briskly-presented and intelligent film.

Carl W. gave it a 9:
Unfortunately emotional films are branded as claptrap today. If you enjoy honest emotion and have tired of coming away form a movie feeling like you need an immediate shower you should enjoy this.

K. David gave it a 7:
What I don't understand is that the real life story took place back in the sixties but the movie shows that it took place back in the eighties to early nineties. Y was that?

B. B. gave it a 0:
The movie was very blah!!!!!! the movie sucked and i'd never want to see another movie like it.

Antwone Fisher Fox Searchlight Pictures

Antwone Fisher
Fox Searchlight Pictures