edwagreen Jeffrey Wright lacked the emotional charge needed to portray Dr. Martin Luther King.You would think that the writers would have given the part of Rosa Parks much more of a build up. Other than the first scene, when she refuses to yield her seat to a white person, the role of Ms. Parks is virtually non-existent.The movie is a definite decisive portrayal of the Montgomery Bus boycott and its rise of Martin Luther King to a leadership position in the movement.Some good acting is done by CCH Pounder as Ms. Robinson, a member of the committee.Sad to see that others would use Baynard Rustin's previous membership in the Communist Party to discredit the boycott. The movie shows what the white power structure in Alabama did in an attempt to end the refusal by blacks to use the public transportation system.

mamacornbread6 "Boycott" is beautifully filmed. I love the fact that it doesn't focus only on Dr. Kings' life and "I Have a Dream" speech like most films/documentaries tend to focus on. It also didn't focus on Rosa Parks either. The movie is truly about the struggle of the boycott. One can really learn a lot about the movement. I never would have guessed Jeffrey Wright could play Dr. King so well. Dr. King's speeches are delivered very well by Wright. Very convincing. And Terrence Howard...woo..he's attractive and a very good actor...and very attractive.Just splendid.

IboChild In the thirty-three years since Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s death, his life has taken on an almost mythical status. The result is that people often forget that he was a real living and breathing man. He was a person who loved (and made love to) his wife. Dr. King was an intelligent man with the gift of oratory, but otherwise ordinary, who suddenly found himself thrust into an extraordinary situation. Commend HBO, director Clark Johnson, the screenwriters and the incredible cast for breathing life into the often told story of Dr. King and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Previous films on Dr. King, paint him as an almost superhuman figure -- a saint even. With Boycott, the filmmakers have wisely brought him "down to earth' and reveal Dr. King as a noble, but clearly human being who has feelings and weaknesses. Remember Dr. King was only 26 years old with a young wife and child, when the Montgomery Bus Boycott began. Also significant is that the film explores Dr. King's relationship with his father at the time. All of these elements help to give the film a special power that will resonate with viewers. Jeffrey Wright gives a powerful performance in the lead role than rivals if not surpasses Denzel Washington's performance as Malcolm X. Wright is so riveting, that you actually forget that you are watching a performance. The film's documentary-style approach also gives the film an almost eerie sense of realism. There's also some more subtle touches that help to place the viewer into the period. Some of the most striking were the scenes showing how black passengers were required to pay their bus fare and how they were treated once they got on the bus. Boycott is not a mere "history lesson," but a moving portrait of a time and the role that a people played in improving their quality of life.

sddavis63 Filmed to resemble a documentary, "Boycott" is the story of the 13-month long Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott that resulted from Rosa Parkes' refusal to give up her seat on a city bus for a white man.Jeffery Wright offers a powerful performance as Martin Luther King, Jr. His resemblance to King - both in physical appearance and speaking style - is almost eerie. He is most definitely the highlight of this movie, particularly since no one else in the cast really stands out from the crowd.The film offers a pretty good step by step description of the boycott from a number of angles. It isn't shy about pointing out the power struggle within the black community over control of the boycott in its early days, and it dramatically portrays the extent (and the sheer lunacy) of racist sentiment in the South of that era.The movie suffers, though, from the decision to make it a mock documentary. Among other things, it simply takes itself much too seriously. Movies that pretend to be documentaries generally make neither great movies nor great documentaries. This is no exception. The jerky filming, the constant shifting into black and white for brief periods and for no apparent reason (except perhaps as a racial comment?) and the "interviews" with various characters didn't contribute very much. "Boycott" would have been much better as a straight drama. As it is, it manages to offer some valuable insights into Montgomery's racial problems in the 1950's, it has some truly wonderful music and it is an uplifting reminder that race hatred and violence can be overcome. So it isn't a bad movie; it just never quite seems to hit its stride, and it could have been so much better. It's good, but not great. 6/10.