The film "Emancipation" has difficulty establishing a reason for its existence. The script feels staged and shallow, unable to make the real story of “Whipped Peter” stand out from countless other films that reduce slavery to just another element in an action or survival movie; it's hard to believe there couldn’t have been a more thoughtful approach to adapting these narratives. While the cinematography by Robert Richardson, the performances—particularly Will Smith’s—and elements of Antoine Fuqua’s direction manage to carry some weight, witnessing disturbing and painful events from our nation's past being exploited for standard Hollywood entertainment becomes wearying. Rating: C-

Source on TMDB