Smartorhypo Highly Overrated But Still Good

ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Joanna Mccarty Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Orla Zuniga It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

barberic-695-574135 It took me a long time to find this movie. I was really excited when it arrived. It was nothing like I expected and it really disappointed me. I finished up switching it off half way through. I love chess and I loved the published story line. What I received was an ill thought out badly filmed amateur movie. It did not help that most of the dialogue was so badly recorded or spoken, not sure which, that you could not understand what was being said most of the time. If you are considering this movie, do not bother, our copy is going in the bin.

billmarsano This is the one inspired by an earlier documentary on the life of Genesis Potini, a Maori chess champion. We've seen this movie before: a passel of dead-end kids going nowhere until an unlikely teacher shows up and molds them into a symphony orchestra, ballroom dancers or a brilliant chorus. But who cares? It's a great story, particularly because the teacher is saving himself as well. Success depends heavily on execution, and this is very well executed indeed. So: a champion player when very, even too young, Genesis Potini was eventually crushed by the pressure to the extent that he has long been in and out of mental institutions. Now out again, and promising to stick to his meds (he's not violent—just erratic), he persuades local social workers to let him try to give their no-hopers some useful direction by teaching them to play chess. The dialogue is in English, but it is an English seriously damaged by local slang, heavy accents and mumbling. But that matters little: the narrative drive overcomes it, and as I've said, we've seen this before. It's very well worth seeing again in this new New Zealand version.

Tom Dooley Based on the real life story of Genesis - a Maori man– who suffered mental health problems. He had a talent for the game of chess having been taught the game by his elder brother. His nickname was 'The Dark Horse' as he was such an unsuspecting chess champion.We catch up with him after he is discharged into the, less than studious, care of his brother. Having been told to avoid stress and find a purpose so he volunteers to help a group of disadvantaged kids to learn and play the game he so loves. His journey, that of his family and all those he touches will have a profound effect on all of them.Now this is one of those films that takes you by surprise, we have biker gangs, drug abuse, mental illness and discrimination all wrapped up in a story that has as its hero a man suffering greatly and a few tips on 'castling'. Cliff Curtis as genesis is just amazing as is Wayne Hapi who plays Ariki – he was a former gang member and was welcomed at the audition. He had no formal acting training and won the best supporting actor at the 2014 New Zealand Film Awards. There are a lot of issues handled here and it is all done with care and understanding – all of the cast are exemplary and the story is as moving as it is rewarding. This is one of those films you will want to tell people about and one that will stay with you – completely recommended.

Neo James (xxxtreme_raver) I have always firmly believed that Cliff Curtis is our finest actor and it would appear that he as proved me right with his role as Genesis in this excellent, gem of a film. His portrayal of someone who suffers from bipolar disorder is so raw and real that it is hard not to connect with the character and feel for him. Cliff has delivered the performance of his career, even piling on 30 plus kilograms for the role and absolutely immersing himself in the character of Gen, that he not only dressed like him for the role but continually played chess non stop. It is a shame that this film did not get a world wide release earlier or and nominations because it should have. A remarkable film about overcoming adversity and having the strength and courage to battle on.