Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Verdict: "The Great Debaters" isn't a great movie, but it does feature a great Denzel Washington performance. Take him out, and it's a rather formulaic, often plucky historical drama. But when he appears in a scene, it jolts the movie with an electricity reminiscent of Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society." It's a must-watch for fans of Denzel, just maybe not a movie that needs rewatching.
Where to watch: Buy or rent "The Great Debaters" from Amazon or stream it on Prime Video with a Moviesphere add-on subscription (7-day free trial)
"The Great Debaters" was, admittedly, a blind spot for me. I knew it was coming in the Denzel Watchathon. I remembered seeing trailers for it back when it came out in 2007.
What I didn't remember was that I was far from the only person who didn't see this movie back in the 2000s. It was a flop at the box office, bringing in just $30.2 million despite starring Denzel and Forest Whitaker.
Now that I have seen it, though, I think it's a movie in Denzel's career that's a must-watch, even if I wouldn't put it among the best movies he's ever done. As a film, it's a fairly average historical drama. It plays a bit fast and loose with the truth and has a few stunning moments. Because the cast, aside from Denzel and Whitaker, is relatively young, it's also incredibly plucky, which isn't what I tend to want from a movie.
But Denzel is incredible as Melvin B. Tolson. Granted, the great orator archetype he's leaning into here has been done before. It's very reminiscent of his own performance in "Remember the Titans," or Robin Williams in "Dead Poets Society." Those are great performances, however. You wouldn't want to have missed them, and you won't want to miss this one either.
If you want to watch this movie before you read on, you can buy or rent it from Amazon. Alternatively, you can stream it on Prime Video with a Moviesphere add-on subscription (7-day free trial) or YouTube TV with a Moviesphere add-on subscription (7-day free trial)
Malcolm has been with the Streaming team at Tom's Guide since 2023, reviewing dozens of movies each year so you don't have to watch the bad ones.
Without Denzel, 'The Great Debaters' is merely average
"The Great Debaters" is based on a true story. Denzel Washington's character, Melvin Tolson, was really a professor at the historically Black college Wiley College in Marshall, Texas. He really did lead a debate team that became renowned for their abilities and their participation in interracial debates.
And James Farmer Jr. (Denzel Whitaker) really did go to Wiley College, where his dad (Forest Whitaker) taught, at age 14. He really participated on the Wiley debate team at that young age and went on to be a prominent civil rights leader.
Here are some of the other Denzel Washington movies I've covered to date in my Denzel Watchathon:
- "Carbon Copy" (1981)
- "Cry Freedom" (1987)
- "Glory" (1989)
- "Malcolm X" (1992)
- "Philadelphia" (1993)
- "Crimson Tide" (1995)
- "Remember the Titans" (2000)
- "Training Day" (2001)
- "Man on Fire" (2004)
- "The Manchurian Candidate" (2004)
- "American Gangster" (2007)
Read more: Every Denzel Watchathon movie so far
Beyond that, well, that's when "The Great Debaters" can't get out of the way of Hollywood's penchant for poetic license.
While Tolson and the Farmers are real, Henry Lowe (Nate Parker), Samantha Booke (Jurnee Smollett) and Hamilton Burgess (Jermaine Williams) are only shades of real people. Booke is the closest to her real counterpart, Henrietta Bell Wells, but even she is a partial work of fiction. Also, the climactic debate at a certain Ivy League school? The real version took place against the University of Southern California, which was the reigning debate champion at the time.
Now, movies take liberties with adaptation all the time. It's something I try to be lenient about. But I'm not sure why this movie felt the need to change these details, given that the real version wouldn't have made the movie demonstrably less engaging based on the research I've done.
Of course, the reality is it wouldn't have made the movie demonstrably more engaging either. While well directed by Denzel, the plotting of this story feels formulaic. The kids are remarkably plucky, able to dust themselves off with ease. While there are struggles to overcome for our main characters ... they all are overcome in the end.
Case in point: the climactic debate, which is set up as if it were a final bout in a boxing movie, doesn't deliver its stakes appropriately. I'm never totally drawn in, and in the end, I'm happy with the resolution, but that happiness is fleeting.
That's not to say nothing sticks with you in this movie, and most of it has to do with Denzel's portrayal of Tolson. While teaching the debate team, there's a subplot of Tolson organizing farmers in Marshal into a union. This is one moment where I'm glad the scriptwriters deviated from the historical record, because it provides two of the most memorable moments in the film.
The other moment that sticks with you is when Tolson and the debate team come across a lynching in Texas. It's a brutal sight and is one of the few moments in the movie where the racism of the Jim Crow South sucks the oxygen out of the room in an impactful way.
Verdict: You should watch 'The Great Debaters' at least once
If the movie had chosen to stick more to Tolson's story, or perhaps to Farmer Jr.'s, maybe it would have been more impactful. The more the movie focuses on the realities of the 1930s South, the more impactful it feels and the more it makes you take notice.
But I get why the movie instead chooses to focus on the successes of its characters. It doesn't wish to totally ignore the reality of its setting, but its focus is on portraying a moment of Black excellence to a general audience. Admittedly, this desire makes it all the more baffling that the writers tweaked the history of the Wiley Debate Team, but again, I largely understand what they were going for.
Regardless, Denzel's performance as Tolson is worth the price of admission. While the performances of the kids often range from melodramatic to reading soulessly off a script (Parker stands out on occasion), Denzel's poignant remarks and cutting wit are emotive. There's an electricity to it that provides a jolt to this historical drama whenever he's on screen.
If you've seen his performance before, I'm not sure you need to rush to see it again. But if you've never seen it (and based on its box office, chances are you haven't), then "The Great Debaters" is a must-watch, if only to see Denzel bring Tolson to life on screen.
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