There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This movie was absolutely astonishing. I loved this movie it makes a stand for not only women, but black people as well. It shows that we can be intellectuals and champion's. I like how the movie shows the young character who was a great actress started from the slums but fought her way to a better life style even after losing her home. This movie made me emotional and wish I had their type of discipline and understand their struggles. I think this movie was great and everyone should have saw this movie.

I loved this movie from start to finish. The right mix of culture and ethnicity with Disney Magic. The Characters were all realistic and enjoyable, the scenery was a constant reminder of where these kids came from and what challenges they faced trying to change that. It makes you cheer for Uganda, for Chess, and especially all the people who gave of themselves.

This was an amazing movie. Well acted, and beautiful cinematography. I found myself falling in love with the Ugandan people and cheering for the Queen as she struggled to climb out of the slums of Uganda and to overcome her perception that she was somehow unworthy of being part of the world outside. It's easy to put yourself into her place, to feel the struggle at each step of progress and feel the pain of her setbacks. Then it peaks at the heart-stopping moment when the coach pushes her to the top with "you belong here!" It's a message that will stay with me.This movie is for anyone who dreams of a better life. No matter who you are, you can achieve your goals if you try hard enough and you don't give up. Fantastic message.

I was hesitant to see the movie, although I marked it for my 2016 must watch list some time ago. There were things that discouraged me to prioritize this movie before all the other I have seen from 2016 so far - like its Disney poster, its genre of "from the bottom to the top" (always a danger to fall into clichés), and lack of exposure and reviews.I am glad I finally watched it today, as it successfully managed to avoid clichés and 2D story-line so often seen in this genre and clichés of over-romanticizing of poverty and Africa in general. I think that the main reason this movie didn't succeed much in USA or Europe on commercial merit is that people didn't really get through those clichés yet. That, and perhaps the African accent that to some western ears may sound "too stupid and slow", so people often correlate that with intelligence of people who speak it.For me, it was refreshing to see finally a good movie set out in Africa and even more so, I applaud the director's decision to shoot it in actual Katwe. It added up on the scale of authenticity and I bet it helped to facilitate actors performance as well- which is also on very high level. I especially liked Lupita Nyong'o's portrayal of the mother of Phiona - the main hero of the story. But surprisingly all child actors are really good too, even though most of them (I heard) never stood before camera (or maybe exactly because of that).As I mentioned the story is classical "from the bottom to the top" genre, but what sets this movie apart from its stereotype genre is willingness to explore characters depth, and not only that of the protagonist (Phiona), but movie managed also to depict other characters with depth and I'd say there are three protagonists in this movie: Phiona (chess prodigy), her mother, and her coach Robert Katende. Story explores their limitations and strength, with nuance, character and intelligence. There are some beautiful scenes where characters above realize their own limitations and as they try to find the way to support each other's strength despite their embarrassment. So mainly this emotional intelligence and nuance set the movie apart from clichés of its genre.Also there are many subtle references to class prejudices in Uganda (which, I think, people from every country can relate to). So bonus point for that too. We saw not just poor slums of Uganda - the dirt, poverty and tacit acceptance of it, we also saw middle class Uganda and upper rich class of Western-like style of Uganda. It was all too familiar to watch the power relations withing Uganda, although with different colour and context.All in all, a story that deserved to be told. I thought it's impossible to make a movie about chess, but this movie kind of made me thinking about learning it! And all in all, a movie that deserves to be watched and acknowledged.I definitely liked it a lot and even managed to shed a tear here and there! I also liked the final credits where you could see the actors standing besides the real people they portrayed in the movie.