20 Best Films Of 2021
2. Judas & The Black Messiah
Daniel Kaluuya won a well-earned Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as Fred Hampton - the chairman of the Illinois branch of the Black Panther Party - in Judas and the Black Messiah.
At once a fascinating account of Hampton's life and premature death, and a riveting crime thriller in the vein of the genre's classics, director Shaka King turns in a film that expertly balances its educational and entertainment merits.
Kaluuya is startlingly brilliant as the charismatic, larger-than-life Hampton, though Lakeith Stanfield is also fantastic as pained FBI informant Bill O'Neal, earning himself a Best Supporting Actor nomination alongside Kaluuya.
As an infuriating window into a sliver of American history audiences may be unfamiliar with, this is a vital work that also happens to be one of the most intense crime thrillers in recent years.