The point of this film is not in great picture and light,or a sound,or directing...not even about lead actor,as many movies this days are.No,the point is a man,a man who this movie is about,and his work and dedication to make this world a better place.Movie carries his message,his strength and his believes,his weakness and power and will to menage them,to deal with them...It tell us about strength of faith,and love.It feel very strong,and right,even lead actor sometime pass to leave same impact.But it can be forgiven,and cut some slacks,cause impression and general "feel",movie itself made,is strong. So,I give this movie a 10,not for picture or a sound,not for light or a directing...just for "feel" that world can be better if we all do our part and try harder to make it better,if we all do our chores and believe,if we find that strength,courage and light inside us.That impact this movies had on me.As to a great man about who is the movie,rest in peace,Carl Upchurch and thank you for your light,that made darkness around us less dark.Peace.
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Maylar24 March 2006
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Tony-Kiss-Castillo4 December 2023FIRST: Let us FOCUS on the Title´s Content and Context...
"I could have easily vanished into the gravitational pull of that South Philly Black Hole...But by consistent hard work...and the grace of God, I broke free!" That's how Carl Upchurch (Omar Epps) sums up his life. I promised a friend BMWTOO I would watch this film and review, giving my very best, 100 % effort...Here it is:
Couldn't help notice one reviewer's comments about how CONVICTION seemed to focus too much on Upchurch's underprivileged upbringing and violently criminal youth and not enough on his accomplishments later in life. Sadly, I feel these reviewers missed the whole point of CONVICTION! To the contrary...I think its greatest strength is how painstakingly the story takes us through Upchurch's step by step, stage by stage metamorphosis from murderous sociopathic small-time hood to national community organizer/leader, who has exerted a positive influence on our entire culture and country!
KUDOS to Epps! What a superb on-screen, slow-burn transition! Remember the scene in Clockwork Orange where Malcolm MacDowell's character is strapped to a chair with his eyes held open by force to make him see images geared to recondition him? Well, if I were dictator, all those who wouldn't watch CONVICTION voluntarily would get that last option! (Remember NOT to vote for ME if I run for office!) Sadly, Wikipedia's information on Upchurch is a scant 20 words and has been poorly entered and linked. (Check it out for yourself) If you GOOGLE his name, you'll find much better source material elsewhere. Does CONVICTION have faults? OK, this is a Showtime production, so you know the drill, right? Even though it does suffer from several Made-4-TV shortcomings, that are par for the course, the true story is profoundly inspirational and merits 5*, but my overall rating is 8.5******** -
Aglaope10 August 2006It's the true story of how a man, John Upchurch, dragged himself away from the negativity of his upbringing, and used the experience to help others.
The movie shows his violent past, and how he saw the futility of his way of life as time past. One quote which was along the lines of, "Just because I have a lot of miles on the clock doesn't mean I'm going soft, I'm getting wise" sums it up to a certain extent.
On the whole it was better at the beginning than the end, where it got a bit slow, but on the whole it was very watchable, with a good display by the lead actor. -
sexxxy_one3524 April 2003The movie has solid acting all the way around. It is the true story of Carl Upchurch. Quite a remarkable story actually. In and out of prison, teaches himself how to read and tries to make a difference in the world instead of using his circumstances as an excuse to remain ignorant. Omar Epps is great as Upchurch, Dana Delany is great as his mentor and Bentley Mitchum as Ledford does an exceptional job of wrapping up all the different personalities of inmates - Ledford is the nemesis inmate of Carl who has his own awakening. Excellent work also by Sullivan, the director who gave us "how stella got her groove back". If you are interested in a good story, good acting, good directing and a true story... This is a movie for you.
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=G=9 February 2004"Conviction" tells the success story of the late Carl Upchurch; a black man who was born to the ghetto, became a criminal, and then bootstrapped his way to prominence as a speaker, organizer, author, and activist for black causes. This Showtime production is a journeyman effort which dwells too much on Upchurch's rather ordinary misdeeds and too little on his extraordinary noble deeds. Okay stuff for anyone with an interest in Upchurch. Passable for all others. (C+)
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j_avenz26 November 2003The movie is based on a true story about a young man (played by Omar Epps) in and out of the system. It does a good job portraying the system and rehabilitating yourself. I'm not sure what the previous comment was about exciting prison stuff. The only thing I can derive from that is something rather perverted. All-in-all, it makes a good moral attempt. The movie is excellent and is about setting higher standards for yourself and choosing the right path.
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mmacdonald5829 December 2003This is a true story. Would you rather it told differently to make better viewing, or hear the tale as it really happened. Carl held the first gang summit ever. He got leaders of street gangs from all over the country to sit together in a Kansas city church to listen about how there is a better way to live their lives. After this meeting violent youth crimes were down accross the country . Not your typical action flick...but a helluva story. Look for a cameo of the real Carl Upchurch as a prison guard standing on the roof. I forget which scene, but he is holding a shotgun accross his chest.
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MLDinTN14 October 2002I like Omar Epps, but he isn't that interesting in this movie. This movie is just too slow and the plot is just not entertaining. He gets out of jail, goes back, gets out again. Changes his life and tries to stop gang violence. That's a steep goal for an ex-con.
FINAL VERDICT: Rather boring. Nothing exciting even happens in prison. -
sylwiusz-z9 November 2004This is not an entirely bad movie and the issues it touches upon are certainly important. What is more, the acting is not brilliant but it could have been a lot worse. The score is not anything that stays in your memory a minute longer than the actual length of the movie but it is not repelling either. Then why do I dislike Conviction? It certainly lacks in a convincing and coherent plot. The murderer and ruthless criminal reading aloud Shakespeare's sonnets in a prison cell is just the first far-fetched scene. But then it gets even worse and more boring. If there is anything that will make me remember this film, it is the sentence spoken by the main character 'You are not born a n***er, you are made a n***er'. But these words could have been illustrated in a far more interesting way.