Tonight, I had the good fortune to catch a sneak preview of ANTWONE FISHER at our local military theater. It's the Denzel Washington-directed biopic about a troubled and angry young black man who joins the Navy in order to make a better life for himself. As a baby, his mother gave him up, and Antwone spent his childhood in an abusive foster care situation. As we get to know the young man, we see flashbacks of his life, and the things he lived through that kept him angry and in need of help. Denzel plays the Navy psychiatrist who works with Antwone. His role is good, but it is definitely Derek Luke's portrayal as the Navy seaman that gives the film its heart and soul. There is a sweet romance with a female sailor who becomes his ally in his search for his roots, and the climatic scene where his search for his family comes to its conclusion brought me, my wife, and most of the audience to tears. This is a really good movie, maybe not great, but an excellent story that is well-told. The fact that the real Antwone Fisher himself wrote and co-produced the film lends quite a bit to the credibility of the story. I enjoyed it very much, and recommend it highly.

Thanks for the pre-view. This was a no brainer for me but I'm glad you like it so much!

I am somewhat interested in this but it seems like we've seen it all before.

Just how sappy is "Antwone Fisher"?

I've seen it too, it's fairly sad, there's a bit of an intelligent love story in it, but it's incredibly well done. I wouldn't call it sappy at all, it's just a great emotional story about a guy. Excellent movie.

Just saw it.

It looked generic from the trailer but I really loved it.

Derek Luke does an outstanding job for a first-time actor.

Washington surprised me with his directing here. There aren't any visual tricks but the present day talk about it then switch to Antwon as a child was effective in my opinion.

I'd highly recommend this film.

It's PG-13 but it has a fair amount of mature subject matter including repeated use of racial phrases and there's some abuse as well.

I've got to chime in as well.

My wife and saw it on New Year's Eve and absolutely LOVED it !!! I thought the performances, particularly Derek Luke's, were exceptional with incredible chemistry by all.

I must admit, I wasn't too psyched about seeing at the time but I'm glad I did. I've since recommended this movie to all of my friends.

Very heart-felt. Very moving. Very well done.

Very highly recommended !!!

A blind buy for me. Denzel can do no wrong

Glad to hear that it's better than the trailer made it look.

I hope it is. I haven't seen it yet, but the trailer makes me want to gag.

"I'm still standin'! I'm still strong!" ugh.

yeah there's that line and another one but that's about it.

i guess they include those so people think it's just nonstop heartwarming filmmaking or something

Needed to kill some time the other day so I decided to catch Antwone Fisher (would have preferred Rabbit-Proof Fence but it wasn't playing in that area). Late last year as I considered the films being released between Thanksgiving and the end of the year, Antwone Fisher did catch my eye but my level of interest in the film was certainly a few notches below Gangs of New York, Lord of the Rings 2, and Catch Me if You Can. All in all, Antwone Fisher was a film I was interested in but only mildly so, I could certainly have waited for the DVD or perhaps even a cable airing. After seeing it, I would give the film a big thumbs up; I enjoyed it quite a bit. Furthermore, I would have to say that I enjoyed it more than Gangs of New York, Lord of the Rings 2, and Catch Me if You Can too. Antwone Fisher might not have the replay value of the previous three (I'm not dying to see it again) but on first viewing I enjoyed it more than the other three (Antwone Fisher surpassed my expectations whereas the other 3 fell short - to varying degrees - of what I expected). A bit of a shame that it got lost in the glut of films that were released at the end of the year.

This movie greatly exceeded my expectations! I was going in thinking it was going to be extremely sappy, and all I can say is that Denzel did an excellent job making a film, especially for the first time. I thought it was very well written, and I have to say for his first movie - Derek Luke did a great job.
**** out of *****

Very good film as it hits on many themes of identity and how your environment impacts who you are, and shows that hurdles can be overcome regardless of environment with a strong will and determination, and with a little help from your friends.

I give it a 3.75 stars, or a grade of A-.