Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Stephan Hammond It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

Prismark10 Black Nativity is an adaptation of a stage play by Langston Hughes which itself is the telling of the nativity with an entire black cast.This film adaptation updates it as a loose parable. Jacob Latimore is Langston Cobbs sent by his mother from Baltimore to live with his grandparents in New York that he knows little about.Naima (Jennifer Hudson) is struggling financially with her house at risk of being repossessed. She has no option but to send her son off to her estranged parents just before Christmas. When Jacob arrives in New York he immediately loses his money and is then arrested. His grandfather Reverend Cornell Cobbs (Forest Whitaker) takes him home from the police station where he meets his grandmother Angela Cobbs (Angela Bassett.)Jacob feels uncomfortable at his grandparents. He knows little about them, he has no idea why his mother has little to do with them, he knows nothing about his father. He finds Reverend Cobbs stern and he also has no time for religion.During his brief stay he has regular run ins with a man called Tyson (Tyrese Gibson) who buys and sells goods outside a pawnbroker.Also in the neighbourhood is a poor, homeless young pregnant couple.Things come to a head when the church puts on their annual nativity and Naima returns and Langston finds out the real reason why she left.The film is a musical drama about faith, struggle and hope. There are people struggling financially, there are people who want reconciliation and redemption. There are people having a crisis of faith.The songs that are gospel based are not very good. The songs need a hook and be catchy. They are not and get in the way.The story is only half developed. The characters tended to be stereotyped and two dimensional. Nothing really fits together even during its short running time.I found the dramatic finale where everything comes together to be anticlimactic and poorly written.

rannynm This is truly an inspirational film and a joy to watch.Langston, played by Jacob Latimore, has to spend the Christmas holiday in New York City with his grandparents, Reverend Cornell Cobbs played by Forest Whitaker and Aretha Cobbs played by Angela Bassett, who he doesn't really know. While there, he has to go by their rules. He wants to get back home to his mother Naima played by Jennifer Hudson. He goes through some things and discovers the true meaning of faith, family and forgiveness.This adaptation of Langston Hughes' play is wonderful. I really like the storyline with its great messages and its attention to detail, even down to the Cobb's family brownstone in Harlem. The acting is powerful and intense and, of course, I love the music. Executive music director, Ralph Saadiq shows his musical talent and has created great songs that tell the story in such a way that both the young and old can listen to and enjoy. I especially like the choir scene.I recommend this film for ages 12 - 17. Of course, I think the whole family will enjoy this movie. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. It's truly a musical event to be enjoyed during the holiday season.Reviewed by Brianna B., KIDS FIRST! Film Critic.

mizwright Going in I knew this was a movie with music and that's what it is, versus a "musical" like Les Miserables, where there's singing throughout opera-style. The goodAll the actors stand out and do their characterizations well. Especially Jennifer Hundson as Naima, the single mom raising a boy-child on her own without help and estranged from her parents. Especially Tyrese who really shows his gentle side as Tyson. His body and face marked with scars, he looks like a thug but has a worldly view as he tries to steer young Langston to the right side of life. Especially Forrest Whitaker who characterizes the Reverend Cobb. Stern, unyielding but with a soft side. Especially the music that soars and transforms the screen into a gospel show near the end. Director Kasi Lemmons ("Eve's Bayou") integrates stage show with movie set ala "Rent". The story of a young boy struggling to find answers and being pulled toward wrongful ways is simplified and strikes just the right tone with spirituality and religiousness. The bad Near the end the drama is laid on thick.See it! This is the only "live" action musical of the year and while it is based on a little known play written by Langston Hughes, it's a triumphant interpretation on film.

Rah Digga What can I say of this wonderful piece of cinematic gold? I was hooked from the inaugural bundle of photons emitted from that silver screen which darted across the darkened theater, striking my rods and cones, stimulating my visual cortex into effervescent fits of orgiastic black biblical entertainment.Not since Tyler Perry's latest classic have I witness such an incredible ensemble of all black Christian-rivisionism, which adheres in no way to Christian theological scholarship. This film, I'm convinced, along with Tyler Perry's eschatological works, will forever be remembered as the uniting impetus which was portended in the great words of Malcolm X, "There can be no black-white unity until there is first some black unity."TL;DR - Black science, black "christian" folk customs, tyler perry, malcolm x, fist.