If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

How sad is this?

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

I never bothered to watch this movie when it was released way back in 2013. I thought it would be full of propaganda and biased in one way or another. I was also sure that I knew the history of South Africa.Today I took the plunge and watched this movie after the death of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela. Following the changes in South Africa since 1992 I always had respect for Nelson Mandela, but not for his then hotheaded wife Winnie.The film depicts the history as I knew it, but the actual mistreatment of the indigenous population I had never witnessed myself. In my environment the relationship between white and black was cordial and untroubled. Though the film has been dramatized, finer detail came to the fore which I did not know. Sure, we knew of troubles and read about it in the press, but not having first-hand knowledge, it was often thought to be exaggerated. The film certainly opened my eyes and the breakup of Nelson's marriage to Winnie is now fully understood. War was averted but both sides wanted it. Nelson Mandela stepped up and became everyone's hero and the country moved away from those dark days.I am moved to have experienced this movie which is beautifully executed and well acted. My rating of 9 is a true affection of my trip through memory lane.

Yes. Idris elba was amazing. But we knew that going in.What we didn't know is that this movie was going to be frustratingly focused on his early life and mistakes to the extent id rather be watching an episode of friends.Poor script.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a movie that portrayed Nelson Mandela, the strongest opponent of apartheid, in an honest light. It showed Mandela as a good man with good values who wanted nothing but racial equality for South Africa. It also showed him as a man who was never home for his family and a man who put his country before his family, even though he loved his family. All of this combined is a wonderful biopic, perhaps a bit conventional at times. But the movie plays the cards well and is emotional at times. Plus we also get a really good song from U2. Justin Chadwick's film is a biopic about Nelson Mandela starting from the 1940's as a lawyer who joined the ANC to promote equality to his 27- year prison sentence to when he became the first black president in the history of South Africa. Idris Elba was just fantastic as Mandela. He really got everything right about the portrayal down to the accent. It shows the impressive range of Elba. Not only he can play a Norse god, but he can play an important historical figure. Naomie Harris as Winnie Mandela was also very good and she gave a moving portrayal of the woman who suffered sixteen months in solitary confinement. Overall, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom is a very good film, even if it plays it safe at times. But racism has always been a worldwide issue and America's own racial problems can be compared to South Africa's, although apartheid was much more violent and oppressive. But this is a really powerful film about a man who fought valiantly for his people. This is also an honest, awards-worthy portrayal. I rate this film 9/10.

Great movie on a great man.Details the life of Nelson Mandela, who fought to end apartheid, spent 27 years in prison for doing so, and became the first democratically-elected President of South Africa. Shows his early days, when his aspirations were different, his change of focus, his incarceration, his negotiations with the government, his release, the transition period and his inauguration. It's not just a simple blow-by-blow cold fact biopic. It shows the humility and grace of the man. Without his level-headedness South Africa's transition to democracy and history thereafter would not have been a peaceful one. It would have gone the way of many African countries in post-colonial/white rule and descended into anarchy and civil war.The relationship with his wife, Winnie, is a prominent theme. Initially it starts out as a love story, and an interesting aside, but it later develops into a "what is and what could have been" comparison. Him representing the path that South Africa took, thanks to him, and her the path to destruction.Superb performance by Idris Elba in the lead role. He got the voice and accent down pat too.Good support from Naomie Harris as Winnie Mandela.