As a casual chess player, movies and shows about chess have always peaked my interest. Chess is about as mental and strategic of a game as you get, which is why it is so popular worldwide. However, it is a very complex game that many find confusing or too intricate to care about. Luckily, Critical Thinking uses chess to tell a real story about underprivileged kids lives without drowning in the minutiae of chess itself. Personally, I think the way Critical Thinking was executed was perfect for the storytelling.
The movie is based around a group of kids who live in a poor and dangerous part of Miami. As an escape from their world, these kids take chess as their school elective, and they are extremely talented at the game of chess. The movie follows their rise from class chess players to national chess champions. As mentioned earlier, the movie does a great job of balancing between the actual chess events and the events of the kids’ lives outside of school. It is very easy to get caught up in the intricacies of every chess game that the kids are shown to play, but the movie does not focus on actual chess gameplay. Yes, they show a lot of moves and techniques, but that is not the focus. The characters are the focus. Chess is simply used to progress the story, and while it may seem like the main focal point of the movie, it is really the situation that the kids are in that steals the show and deservedly so. The tournaments are exciting and important parts of the movie, but they move along a solid pace that doesn’t take away from the more important parts of the movie: the kids.
Sedrick is shown to be the main characters of the story as the audience gets to see inside his home life and experience what it’s like to be him. The audience is given a lot of information on his background and future aspirations, which makes him a great protagonist for the story. Ito is given the second-most screen time outside of chess, and it shows an interesting juxtaposition between him and Sedrick. Sedrick and Ito take separate paths throughout the story, but both routes are justified. Ito follows a path that he clearly should not be going down, but he does it out of survival. As an audience member, you get to see Sedrick doing everything he can to make it out, while Ito follows a path more expected of him. The other kids on the chess team are not given as much background, but their personalities are on display throughout. The movie does a really great job of showing who these kids are and building them up as characters. Each kid has their own arc throughout the story that is fun to follow along with.
Ultimately, the kids go on to win each tournament they enter until they are national champs. It is a very feel good story for the most of them, but Ito’s story still reminds the audience of the situation these kids are in, whether they are chess champs or not. The driving force behind the entire movie is Mr. Martinez, played perfectly by John Leguizamo. Leguizamo truly puts in an amazing performance in this movie. If anyone is specifically a fan of his, I would highly recommend watching this movie. He shows passion and emotion for the kids throughout the movie, which further shows that the movie is not about chess. It may seem like a chess movie, but it is a movie about these kids doing what they can to thrive in a situation that holds them back, and they do thrive. The kids truly have aspirations to do something amazing, and that is shown through their words and actions. It really is an enjoyable, entertaining, and thoughtful movie that I enjoyed watching very much.
I really can’t think of anything negative to say about this movie, other than it will not blow you away. It is a solid movie and deserves the recognition for being a good movie, but it’s not this all-time amazing movie. The writing, acting, and plot are all very good. Watching the kids push through adversity together is empowering and enjoyable to see. The acting feels very real and authentic in the movie, and I am sure many can relate to a situation that one if the characters is in. Critical Thinking currently has an average rating of 3.2 on Letterboxd, which is actually a bit lower than my rating of a 3.5. 3.5 is a pretty high rating from me but not crazy, but it was interesting to see that the general public had rated it lower than me. That being said, I do recommend this movie to anyone that enjoys movies.