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Year One
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
Light It Up

Mixed or average reviews
Based on 27 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 1 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by: Craig Bolotin
Directed by: Craig Bolotin
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 10, 1999
DVD: June 13, 2000
Running Time: 99 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language and violent content
Starring Usher Raymond, Forest Whitaker, Judd Nelson, Sara Gilbert, Rosario Dawson, and Vanessa Williams
Following an accidental shooting in a battered inner city high school, a disparate group of students hold the wounded police officer hostage. As media and public interest in the stand-off intensifies, the classmates unexpectedly band together to help themselves and their school. (20th Century)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
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...
Baltimore Sun Milton Kent
Much of Light It Up has a familiar feel. But there are enough redeeming insights to make the time you spend at this school worthwhile.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Phoebe Flowers
Heartbreaking and sometimes dazzlingly effective, the film still has flaws -- most of them in a too-often-maudlin script.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Barbara Shulgasser
This is a good-hearted movie that unfortunately is wildly implausible and makes no sense.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Phoebe Flowers
The protagonists of Light It Up seem strangely tender and vulnerable, and the movie, if heavy-handed at times, does a remarkable job of making their plight moving.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle
At all times, the audience believes that it's watching something that really could happen.
Read Full Review >USA Today Staff [Not Credited]
A tough little hostage thriller with crackling dialogue, surprising intelligence and an emotional wallop.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
It has moments of effectiveness, some of the performances -- especially Whitaker and Robert Ri'chard -- are moving.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Jay Carr
Light It Up isn't a great movie, but it's a cut above most so-called urban thrillers.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
If I can't quite recommend the movie, it's because so much of the plot is on autopilot. The dialogue spells out too much that doesn't need to be said.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Nicole Campos
Little more than a movie of the week with slick visuals and an amped soundtrack.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Examiner Wesley Morris
A laughably disconnected hostage drama that rails against the perceived nightmare of inner-city public schools.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum
The passionate and carnivalesque sense of politics reminded me at times of "Dog Day Afternoon," but despite the absence of cynicism this is a 90s story in every sense of the word
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer David Ehrenstein
The real find-- is Rosario Dawson, who has appeared to good effect in previous smaller roles ("Kids," "He Got Game") and just about walks off with the movie.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
It's a bit of 60s idealism wedged in what basically looks like a hip-hop music video.
Read Full Review >Slate Eliza Truitt
Singer Usher Raymond earns praise as the leader of the group, but the rest of the cast goes largely unnoticed.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Lawrence Van Gelder
Turns out to be a pretentiously righteous drama that drowns any claim to serious attention in a sea of superficial characters.
Washington Post Rita Kempley
Benefits from affecting performances from a gifted cast headed by R&B heartthrob Usher Raymond.
Read Full Review >Variety Robert Koehler
Never quite catches fire in its too-deliberate attempt to appeal to all ages and all tastes.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Light It Up would be a strong candidate for the year's most irresponsible movie - if it were remotely believable.
Read Full Review >TNT RoughCut Matt Kelsey
Would have been better suited as a television movie of the week.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
The story is irresponsible and the filmmaking is awful.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman
As an actor, Raymond is whiny and annoying, but not nearly so much as the film.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 10.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Myss M. gave it a 10:
I loved this movie!!! so powerful to teen eyes...
