'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' is a little too staid
'Mandela' shows that adapting the leader's life as a film may be too difficult a task.
Idris Elba and Riaad Moosa star in 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.'
Courtesy of The Weinstein Company
Justin Chadwick鈥檚 鈥淢andela: Long Walk to Freedom鈥� is a staid biopic drawn from Nelson Mandela鈥檚 autobiography.
Idris Elba plays Mandela with burly force, but Mandela鈥檚 odyssey from young lawyer and amateur boxer to prisoner on Robben Island to the president鈥檚 mansion as his nation鈥檚 first democratically elected leader is mostly hagiographic.
Maybe Mandela is one of those historical figures whose life is greater, more larger-than-life, than any mere movie could ever do justice to.
Grade: C- (Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence and disturbing images, sexual content, and brief strong language.)