--- title: "Malcolm X: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/malcolm-x/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/malcolm-x" critics_score: 70 critics_reviews: 13 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Malcolm X (1992): what the critics said Critics' score 70 from 13 reviews: 8 positive, 3 mixed, 2 negative. Most critics rate Malcolm X highly, and the praise settles on two people. Denzel Washington’s performance is named in every review, favourable or not, as the thing that holds three hours together; even the harshest notices credit him with saving the film. Spike Lee is praised for scale, for fairness to the man’s contradictions and for staying close to the autobiography. Slant and The Ringer both single out the opening titles, which link the film to the Rodney King beating, for their urgency. The reservations are about pace and temperature. Variety finds it sluggish and overlong; Empire calls it a history lesson; The New Yorker thinks it impersonal, faithful but without a fresh view of its subject. The Independent argues the camera is livelier in the criminal years than in the redemption, and Little White Lies objects to how little Angela Bassett is given as Betty Shabazz. The spread is wide, and the dissenters are mostly the 1992 and 1993 notices; later reassessments run warmer. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 18 November 1992. The critic calls it one of the great screen biographies, an extraordinary and inspirational film that shows Malcolm's full life journey and transformation. He singles out Denzel Washington's broad, convincing central performance and Spike Lee's empathetic, fair approach to race and character. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/malcolm-x-1992) ## The AV Club — Noel Murray Rating A. 7 March 2012. The critic calls Malcolm X a powerhouse piece of cinema and a culmination of everything Spike Lee had done up to that point, a sweeping Hollywood epic that also feels like a Spike Lee Joint. Denzel Washington’s fully realized performance as Malcolm anchors the sprawling story and allows the filmmakers to experiment with visual styles without losing the audience. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/malcolm-x-1798171853) ## Slant Magazine — Eric Henderson Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 8 February 2005. The critic views Malcolm X as one of the truly seminal biopics, praising how Lee integrates his gadflyish social outrage into the typically reactionary genre without injecting his own persona as an actor. The opening credits and coda are singled out for connecting the film's historical subject to contemporary events like the Rodney King beating. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/malcolm-x/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 1992. The critic calls the film somber, powerful and surprisingly careful and classical, succeeding as a grand epic and hero-creating mythology for people of color. It singles out Denzel Washington's graceful, transformative lead performance and the even-handed narrative. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-11-18-ca-383-story.html) ## Radio Times — Calum Baker Rating 4/5. The ambitious three-hour biopic is suitably monumental despite being conventional by Spike Lee's standards. Denzel Washington's commanding performance as Malcolm X anchors the chronological account drawn from the autobiography, supported by strong turns and lush visuals. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-5ojt6v/malcolm-x/) ## The Guardian Rating A– (entertainment). 11 November 2011. The critic finds Spike Lee's adaptation a powerful and faithful version of the autobiography that gathers strength as it progresses. The film is singled out for praise in its dramatic portrayal while noting inaccuracies stemming from historical debates around Malcolm X's life and legacy. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/nov/11/malcolm-x-reel-history) ## The New York Times — Vincent Canby Rating Critic's Pick. 18 November 1992. The critic finds Spike Lee's film an ambitious, tough and seriously considered biographical drama that honors its subject but falls short of equaling the autobiography. It singles out Denzel Washington's intelligent, psychologically hefty performance for praise. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/18/movies/review-film-malcolm-x-as-complex-as-its-subject.html) ## Little White Lies — Nadia Latif Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2017. The critic admires Malcolm X as Spike Lee's most daring, troubled and spectacular film, an epic that earns its length through visual flair, Denzel Washington's performance and a palpable sense of dread. She singles out the limited screen time and underdeveloped role for Angela Bassett as Betty Shabazz for complaint, noting the film's macho focus and heteronormative lens. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/in-praise-of/malcolm-x-at-25-untold-mystery-of-betty-shabazz) ## Empire — Tom Hibbert Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The film is restrained rather than incendiary, veering toward a history lesson at times, though saved by Denzel Washington's powerful performance as Malcolm; it suffers from message over substance and is slightly tedious as a result. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/malcolm-x-review/) ## The New Yorker — Terrence Rafferty Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 23 November 1992. The critic acknowledges the achievement of producing a major studio epic biography of Malcolm X but finds the film stubbornly impersonal and lacking a fresh vision of its subject despite faithful storytelling. It notes strong moments in Washington's performance once Malcolm becomes a public figure but criticizes the overall execution. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/11/30/still-life) ## The Independent Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 5 March 1993. Spike Lee's epic is long on rhetoric and short on true drama; it makes a better case for Malcolm's slide into crime than his redemption, with the camera most alive early on, and struggles to balance the hero's political complexities. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-stations-of-the-cross-1495714.html) ## Variety — Todd McCarthy Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 9 November 1992. The review finds the film disappointingly conventional, sluggish, and overly long, with pacing and storytelling issues that prevent it from fully capturing the source material's power. It praises Denzel Washington's magnetic lead performance and some strong supporting turns but notes the script and direction fall short overall. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1992/film/reviews/malcolm-x-1200430998/) ## The Ringer — K. Austin Collins Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 22 November 2017. The critic praises the film as a cinematic masterpiece that captures the full evolution of Malcolm X through Denzel Washington's career-best performance and Spike Lee's direction. It singles out the opening sequence linking the film to contemporary events like the Rodney King beating for its urgent confrontation and timeliness. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2017/11/22/movies/malcolm-x-denzel-washington-spike-lee) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/malcolm-x.md