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

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

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

It's one of Lee's most accomplished and effective films in years.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 23, 2022

Thrillingly ambitious musical satire from the legend that is Spike Lee.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 30, 2021

"Chi-Raq" is fiercely intelligent with its farcical parable and fearless in its vicious social commentary.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 9, 2021

Messy and nauseating.

| Feb 9, 2021

Powerful, preachy, maddening but ultimately unforgettable.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 3, 2021

It's not Spike Lee's job to come up with solutions. His job is to engage our imaginations and stimulate our minds. It's up to us to be smart enough and strong enough to solve these problems.

| Feb 13, 2020

It's inspiring to see a talent of Lee's caliber swing for the fences. Chi-Raq may not be perfect, but I can't stop thinking about it.

| Jan 13, 2020

Overall, Chi-Raq is easily Spike Lee's most daring feature - a highly energetic film that not only shines a light on American gang culture, but puts a feminist spin on pacifism.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 13, 2019

Lee is back with Chi-Raq, his most powerful and boisterous movie in years.

| Jul 2, 2019

Chi-raq is powerful, even heart-breaking stuff wrapped in a dark, hip-hop musical comedy.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 8, 2019

Utterly unafraid to point its finger, Chi-Raq is nothing less than a rousing success.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 14, 2019

Spike Lee has a way of making anger incredibly thoughtful as well as entertaining.

| Original Score: B | Dec 14, 2018

Through music, celebrity and sheer pizzazz, Chi-Raq uses every weapon in its arsenal to get cinema-goers to reflect on the state of the nation. Urgent, clever and a lot of fun, Spike Lee's latest is a classic in the making.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 19, 2018

Lee's latest may be the epitome of a hot mess, but it's one we need now more than ever.

| Nov 3, 2018

By seemingly sidelining narrative coherence to bring forth its themes, the film offers an experience that is both special and irritating (and often at the same time).

| Oct 10, 2018

This film is an insult to black women.

| Aug 23, 2018

It's a too-long, high-wire act of a film, using rap in place of dialogue, and occasionally it hits the ground. But when it works, wow.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 22, 2018