This film, rooted in actual events—as much as those events can ever be fully understood—presents a bleak and unsettling portrayal by Kathryn Bigelow of a single night’s chaos within the city. During an outbreak of rioting, police respond to gunfire reported at a downtown hotel. Inside, they encounter a group of young Black men, along with a few white women, and what unfolds is a disturbing combination of racial animo…

It’s certainly an important narrative, but as a movie, it didn't live up to expectations for me. I was invested in the characters immediately because of the sensitive topic being addressed, and that’s really where my engagement stopped. The film runs a lengthy 143 minutes, and one scene felt like it dragged on forever without contributing much—with the exception of the final section. A movie has to offer more than…