Emancipation (2022)
83%RT Audience Score: 100%
Awards & Nominations: NA
Emancipation works as an action movie — albeit one that’s uncomfortably at odds with its awkward handling of the real-life events that inspired its stirring story.
Emancipation is like that one friend who’s really good at playing video games but can’t hold a conversation to save their life. It’s an action-packed movie that’ll keep you on the edge of your seat, but it’s also a bit cringey when it comes to dealing with the real-life events that inspired the story. It’s like the filmmakers were trying to be serious and profound, but ended up tripping over their own feet. Still, if you’re in the mood for some adrenaline-fueled entertainment, Emancipation might just do the trick.
Production Company(ies)
Apple Studios, Escape Artists, FilmNation Entertainment, Fuqua Films, Prejudice, Westbrook Studios
Distributor
Apple TV+
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
2022
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:2h 12m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Dec 2, 2022 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 9, 2022
Genre(s)
History/Drama
Keyword(s)
Emancipation, Will Smith, Antoine Fuqua, Bill Collage, History, Drama, Mystery & Thriller, R, Disturbing Images, Strong Racial Violence, Language, Apple TV+, Jon Mone, Joey McFarland, Todd Black, Box Office, Budget, Reviewed by Nick Schager, K Austin Collins, David Jenkins, Robert Daniels, Leah Greenblatt, Jake Coyle, Jonathan W Hickman, Patrick McDonald, Jesse Hassenger, Brittany Witherspoon, Josh Parham, Tim Appelo, Starring Ben Foster, Charmaine Bingwa, Gilbert Owuor, Mustafa Shakir, Steven Ogg, MPAA Rating, Slavery, Louisiana, Union Army, Whipped Peter, Harper’s Weekly, The Scourged Back, Public Opposition, Escaping Slavery, Hunters, Swamps, Faith, Love, Action Movie, Real-Life Events, Unwavering Faith, Deep Love, Triumphant Story, Mutilated Back, Enslavers, Genre, Limited Release, Streaming Release, English, Scope (2.35:1), Aspect Ratio
Worldwide gross: NA
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): NA
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $120,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $128,479,657
Production budget ranking: 273
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $69,186,296
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Ben Foster – Fassel
Charmaine Bingwa – Dodienne
Gilbert Owuor – self
Mustafa Shakir – self
Steven Ogg – Sergeant Howard
Director – Antoine Fuqua
Producers – Will Smith, Jon Mone, Joey McFarland, Todd Black
Writer – Bill Collage
Director(s)
Antoine Fuqua
Writer(s)
Bill Collage
Producer(s)
Will Smith, Jon Mone, Joey McFarland, Todd Black
Film Festivals
Cannes
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (40) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (20) | Rotten (20)
A two-dimensional slavery epic that fits the description “awards bait” to a tee.
December 3, 2022
Nick Schager
The Daily Beast
TOP CRITIC
… A historically dubious, morally incurious piece of genre fare that satisfies as entertainment and not much else. Pure Hollywood heroism.
December 3, 2022
K. Austin Collins
Rolling Stone
TOP CRITIC
A slavery era-set film that maybe didn’t want or need to be set then.
December 2, 2022 | Rating: 2/5
David Jenkins
Little White Lies
TOP CRITIC
“Emancipation” is a hollow piece of genre filmmaking that rarely answers, “Why this story and why now?”
December 2, 2022 | Rating: 1.5/4
Robert Daniels
RogerEbert.com
TOP CRITIC
[Smith’s] conviction carries Emancipation a long way, elevating what is essentially a B movie to the realm of something better than its outsize premise: a blunt instrument, maybe, but a brutally affecting one too.
December 2, 2022 | Rating: B
Leah Greenblatt
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
Fuqua’s film is often harrowing and gripping but also less nuanced and too narrowly confined in genre conventions than its real-life protagonist deserves.
December 2, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/4
Jake Coyle
Associated Press
TOP CRITIC
…a Will Smith film and not an Antoine Fuqua one.
December 3, 2022 | Rating: 5/10
Jonathan W. Hickman
The Newnan Times-Herald
Despite the flights of historic fancy, this film contains intoxicating images of Peter’s escape and the Civil War. Smith has never been better, he understood Peter, as he is now escaping from his old image and searching for his own redemption. Freedom!
December 2, 2022 | Rating: 4.5/5
Patrick McDonald
WBGR-FM (93.7 FM – Monroe, WI)
If there’s more left to say about the vileness of slavery or how it entwined with a stunningly bloody Civil War, Emancipation doesn’t bother saying it.
December 2, 2022 | Rating: 6.1/10
Jesse Hassenger
Paste Magazine
While Emancipation contains beautiful cinematography amidst brutalities of oppression, it conveys very little about the man who should easily inspire. December 2, 2022 | Rating: 2.5/5
Brittany Witherspoon
Screen Rant
While there is an imposing performance from Will Smith and some exceptional below-the-line achievements, the hollowness that lingers is one that artificially constructs the forward momentum.
December 2, 2022 | Rating: 5/10
Josh Parham
Next Best Picture
Smith’s performance and Fuqua’s gift for grueling spectacle carry the film.
December 2, 2022 | Rating: 4/5
Tim Appelo
AARP Movies for Grownups…
Plot
Peter, a man who escapes from slavery, relies on his wits, unwavering faith and deep love for his family to evade cold-blooded hunters and the unforgiving swamps of Louisiana on his quest for freedom. The film is inspired by the 1863 photos of “Whipped Peter,” taken during a Union Army medical examination, that first appeared in Harper’s Weekly.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Will Smith stars in Emancipation (2022) as a runaway slave trying to escape plantation owners in Louisiana.
Antoine-Fuqua.jpg
