Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Opening with mobile phone footage of an actual police brutality incident at a US train station, this independent drama subsequently spends a little over an hour detailing the experiences of the key victim in the hours leading up to the incident. The film has been criticised by some for speculating the events preceding the incident, but taken as a fiction film inspired by a real life case, it is oddly compelling stuff as it tries to put a face to what otherwise might be written off as just another victim of police brutality. Michael B. Jordan is very good as the young man in question who ponders about his purpose in life as he fills the hours of the day by running errands and helping strangers. He is not as saintly as all that though; he has a violent temper and trust issues with his wife, who he lies to about being employed. He is also a loving father though, a dedicated son and a good Samaritan and while prison flashbacks paint a checkered past, he ultimately comes off as far more complex than just another ex-con brutality victim. First time director Ryan Coogler films the material very well too with some appropriately unsteady walking camera-work in key moments like Jordan confronting his former boss. The film is not exactly subtle for all its virtues and tends to labour the points about police incompetence, but with such a three dimensional protagonist, it remains enticing throughout.

The story is powerful, the writing is creative, and the directing is noteworthy. What more must I say to convince you to watch this movie? Michael B. Jordan & Octavia Spencer hold great performances and the cinematic quality is excellent. If it wasn't for the nonfictional aspect, this film could have been up for a few Oscar nods. Nevertheless, Fruitvale Station is still a must-see.

Director Ryan Coogler faces social issues head on with one of the rawest films of our time. Fruitvale Station is a gritty and real documentation of the last day in the life of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, a black man who would later be fatally shot by transit police in the early morning of January 1st 2009. Grant was killed while laying face down and handcuffed on the subway platform in Bay area, California. His death was seen and filmed by many witnesses that morning whose videos would surface and spark many protests and riots in California. This film set a spark that ignited into a wildfire of conversation about social issues across America when released in 2013, also around the time Trayvon Martin was also shot dead in Florida. Coogler carried on the discussion of racism, police brutality, social injustice through film in a way that should be applauded and honored. Oscar Grants name and story was not forgotten on January, 1st 2009.The first image shown to viewers from the start of the film is a bystander's original fuzzy camera footage from the tragic event. It shows the commotion and chaos between the transit police, pedestrians and of course Oscar Grant and his friends. The director showed a spark of genius in starting the film this way because, it implanted into viewers minds reassurance that the physicality of the police and the tenseness of the situation actually happened. It let us know that the film to follow was nothing more then a genuine recollection of that night and not a phony imitation more suited for Hollywood. This 27-year-old directors choices and organization of this film, like this, are nothing short of remarkable. Coogler, a true hidden gem in the film industry, is sure to leave us with many impactful and memorable films in years to come.None of the films awards, achievement and impact could have been done without the powerful performance of Michael B. Jordan. Viewers eyes stayed glued to the screen as he carried his role through the authenticity of Oscar Grant's final day. He was able to display the emotional elements of life like taking on the role of the soft and loving father while, turning into a volatile ex-con in the same scene. Jordan masterfully is able to portray the man who is good at heart but carries many flaws. The broad spectrum of emotion he displayed can be described as poetic as it guided our hearts to feel a certain way, wile keeping us on the edge of our seats at what was to come. Fruitvale station strikes a chord in everyone's heart the more the audience gets to know Oscar Grant. Michael B. Jordan and Octavia Spencer's forceful rendition of everyday life in the Grant family let viewers form a relationship with Oscar even just for that one day. This is why the closer you become with the real life characters, the more vulnerable you feel because of the inevitable ending the director laid out for viewers in act one. In our minds we watch and cherish every insignificant event because even though it seems so ordinary, little does he know, it was the last time Grant would do these simple things again. Viewers can envision their own lives and see similarities through Oscar Grant as he plays a father or a loved son. The film transforms a once ordinary person into a symbol of all life and how unfortunately for some, the absurdity of racism can bring it all to an end. Fruitvale station speaks to and can be enjoyed by people of all genders, races and religion. This triumph of a film leaves a sadness in the hearts of many and a change in the minds of all.

Well, let me see, to the critics of this film, this is not a documentary, it is a film. Did Coogler take artistic license? Of course! Was Grant a choir boy, certainly not! But the film is an artistic and cultural achievement that should be recognized. We live in neither a just or fair society. Anyone who argues differently is either ignorant or a fool. The beauty of our society is that we can argue about it. There are many places in the world where you cannot.In a very even handed way, the film portrays a somewhat troubled ghetto kid who is trying to get his life together. Coogler does a masterful job of portraying Grant as a multifaceted character. I think he succeeds. It is important to understand that cops are indeed human and have emotions and short fuses like many of us. They also have license to use lethal force. And when they do, they can act in devastating and unlawful ways. The key message of this movie is that cops can unwittingly snuff out lives for no valid reason. People often forget that the function of police is to maintain order and apprehend offenders. It is not to punish them. That is the job of the courts and the penal system. When a cop becomes an executioner, he has overstepped his authority. I think we have lost sight of this basic tenant of our society. This film tries to make us aware of that. Last year police killed over 1100 people in the U.S. using lethal force. In the U.K., it was 10. In Japan it was 1.On a personal note, I work a mile or two from this BART station. I ride BART regularly. One of my sons was at Fruitvale Station returning from a party just after Grant was shot. If my son had left his party ten minutes earlier, it could have been him on the platform. The only difference is my son is white. This film is too close to home.