Chi-Raq - B

Rated R, 118 minutes

The provocative, relevant new Spike Lee dramedy "Chi-Raq" is  a powerful satire on gun violence, though its more uneven moments tend to sway toward the bombastic. The movie, directed and co-written by Lee, is a modern day adaptation of the Classical Greek play "Lysistrata" by Aristophanes in which women withhold physical affection from their husbands as penance for fighting in war. After the murder of a child by a stray bullet, a group of women led by Lysistrata (newcomer Teyonah Parris), whose boyfriend Chi-raq (Nick Cannon) is a gang member and burgeoning rapper, organize against the on-going violence in Chicago's Southside creating a movement that challenges the nature of race, sex and violence. The well-acted, well-cast and wholly original "Chi-Raq" has some good, if not occasionally preachy, statements to make about gun violence, a relevant topic even this week given the tragic San Bernadino, California murders. Lee works best when he lets his story naturally flow instead of interrupting the narrative flow to make a statement about gun control; the story itself is an engaging one (and most of the dialogue is in rhyme), and the talented cast make it work, including Parris and Cannon as the young lovers, Samuel L. Jackson as Dolmedes (cast as a street preacher here), Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, John Cusack and Wesley Snipes, playing against type here comedically as a doofus gang member. The rap/R&B infused soundtrack, including Cannon's opening tune, are also noteworthy and add some nice texture to a flawed film that occasionally stumbles due to Lee's heavy-handedness (and Cusack is miscast as a preacher, even if that really was the point). Even with its flaws, "Chi-Raq" is a compelling satire and Spike Lee's best film in years.