Rating: 
Summary: Inspirational True Story
Review: Antwone Fisher (Derek Luke) is a US Navy petty officer with anger management problems. On numerous occasions he has attacked his fellow seamen with little or no provocation, and his superior officer finally demotes him and sends him to a staff psychiatrist for evaluation. Dr. Davenport (Denzel Washington) insists that Antwone see him once a week, whether or not he wants to talk about his problems. Finally, motivated by sheer boredom, Antwone tells Dr. Davenport about his past: the parents that abandoned him, the abusive foster home, the loss of his only friend, and the destitution that compelled him to join the Navy. Dr. Davenport takes an interest in freeing young Antwone from his consuming anger, and suggests that he try to find what is left of his long-lost family. With the help of his psychiatrist and his girlfriend Cheryl (Joy Bryant), Antwone is able to put the worst of his past behind him and embrace the family he should have had."Antwone Fisher" is a true story; its screenplay was written by Antwone Fisher himself. The film is also actor Denzel Washington's first effort at directing a feature film. Washington does a solid job. "Antwone Fisher" is presented in a straight-forward, conventional biopic style, which effectively evokes sympathy for its main character. Derek Luke is very good as Antwone Fisher. The actors who play the villains in Fisher's life are especially convincing and deserve a lot of credit. I'm not sure what to think of Denzel Washington's performance as Dr. Davenport, though. Dr. Davenport strikes me as pompous, selfish, and fairly screwed up. It seems to me that he wants to help Antwone Fisher in order to satisfy his own ego more than anything else. I found his character distasteful. I don't know if the Dr. Davenport was really like that, if he was written that way in the screenplay, if that is Denzel Washington's interpretation, or if it's just my interpretation. But the movie is about Antwone Fisher, so it doesn't matter very much how his psychiatrist is portrayed. "Antwone Fisher" is a compelling story about a man who would not let his past define him. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: I walked away disappointed
Review: Well this movie is ultimately about a guy who doesn't know his real family. While in the Navy at the age of 24, he gets sent for a psychiatric evaluation and talks to Denzel Washington who is the director of this movie. A bad thing about this movie is the fact that Denzel came off as a bad husband in the movie. He was nice to his wife, but he never knew the right thing to say, yet he was treating people's personal problems for a living. Antwone never seemed to care all that much about who his family was until the very end. Denzel kept encouraging him to seek out his family and Antwone didn't care. There are a few flashbacks of him getting sexually assaulted by old ladies, and of his friend being murdered at a gas station and other things. This movie has a good plot but it takes its sweet old time. I was expecting something exciting to know it would involve the Navy but we don't see anything from the Navy. We just see a young man who does not have any problems put up with people who thinks he does. He probably just found out who his family was just to shut them up. There isn't any entertaining action, suspense, etc. Hate to say my friend told me so
Rating: 
Summary: A VIEWER FROM MO.
Review: I VIEWED THE MOVIE AND I WAS ACTUALLY SPELL BOUND BY THE MOVIE. THE ACTORS WERE SUPERB. THE MOVIE APPEARED SO REAL. THERE WAS A LOT OF RESEARCH DONE TO MAKE IT SO SURREAL. I WAS ASSOCIATED WITH FOSTER CARE BOTH AS CHILD AND AN ADULT. I CONGRADULATE DENZEL WASHINGTON, AND THE STARS IN THIS MOVIE, AS WELL AS OTHERS THAT HELPED PRODUCED THIS MOVIE.
I THANK YOU, IT ANSWERED A FEW QUESTIONS I HAD A BOUT MY LIFE AS WELL. IT WAS ENJOYED BY MY ENTIRE FAMILY.
Rating:
Summary: GETS TO THE HEART OF MANY EMOTIONAL WOUNDS!
Review: Its a movie that can help heal some emotional wounds or address ones that need healing. It addresses very controversial issues, sexual abuse by a woman, the result of slavery on the human psyche and more. I applaud Denzel for being brave enough to take on such a controversial subject that is so painful and as a result not always appreciated or warmly accepted. Keep up the GREAT JOB DENZEL!
Rating:
Summary: greatness
Review: movie greatness that is. this is a brilliantly touching dramatic masterpiece. in this movie a man in the navy named antwone quentin fisher who's lived his life in foster homes and
mens shelters and has never met his mother or father and has a bad temper. when he's sent to a psychiatrist the psychiatrist changes his life. he finnally meets his family including his mother. everyone loves him. thumbs up for this great movie everyone should see.
Rating:
Summary: Overcoming Female on Male Domestic Violence
Review: I just finished watching this movie and want to recommend it, but not give the story away. Partly, it was interesting to me, because I was in the Navy and served on a LPH. Antwone served on a LPA, the modern equivalent, however there was much more to hold my interest than that mere coincidence. I found this movie refreshingly intelligent and strong in substance. It was strong in story line, and completely devoid of gratuitous violence. I must say, that it is my opinion, that it carried a story line that is not in popular acceptance in our society, in our government, or in the domestic violence industry today. I will dare to ask you this question. If the plot had been the same, but Antwone had instead been a female character, and the women in his childhood had instead been male characters, would the minuscule notoriety that this movie received in Hollywood have been different? I highly recommend this movie to everyone who seeks a balanced perspective about violence in today's families. It presents a searing truth that is all too infrequently told. I especially recommend this movie to those who hold to the popular view of domestic violence as an exclusively male on female problem (the popular viewpoint that is so prevalent in that closed minded domestic violence industry). Be sure to notice how Antwone's father dies. This movie gives a whole new perspective to the gender dynamics of what goes on in those situations. Unlike today's domestic violence industry, this movie does not demonize and condemn an entire gender. Antwone is able to find many positive, non violent men and women who are well balanced, not the least of which is his girl friend. The closing scene is a reaffirmation of the power of men and women of good heart to come together in loving support of a battered man who has been cruelly abused. As the death of his best friend in a robbery so graphically and contrastingly points out, Antwone is truly a lucky man in our society to be able to find the shelter he needs to help make him whole again. I salute Antwone Fisher for the courage to tell his story, and I especially salute Denzil Washington for the courage to make an unpopular, but truthful picture, that runs counter to the politically correct view of domestic violence that our society holds. Sincerely, Ray Blumhorst
Rating:
Summary: one that touches the heart
Review: Antwone Fisher should be required viewing for anyone who wants to understand the painful scars of child abuse and the triumph of the human spirit. I am unashamed to say that I wept. Denzel Washington continues to excel. There must be some kind of award for this exemplary young man for his positivity and service to his community.
The cast of Antwone Fisher is superb and the way in which the material was presented was very sensitive and moving. The Color Purple lso made me cry but I kind of wish that someone like Washington had been able to direct that story. Anyway, see it for yourself!
Rating:
Summary: "A good boy he tried to be."
Review: Many thanks to Amazon.com for sending me this DVD. I will say that I normally avoid full screen versions of movies, as they almost always destroy the director's original vision of how the scenes should look by chopping off the action on the left and right sides of your screen. This movie is no exception. There are some scenes with simply gorgeous cinematography and watching the full screen version only makes me want to trade it in for a widescreen one because I know I'm missing half the picture this way and it irks me. That said, there's plenty of rage and violence in this film (with good reason, I might add), and after the gorgeous opening dream sequence, it starts off with a pretty testosterone fueled fight in the locker room between him and another Navy man. As a result, Antwone is sent to the psych clinic where eventually, he is able to start to work through all of his unresolved anger issues, which stem from a rather dysfunctional childhood. At first, it is made quite obvious that Antwone doesn't want to play the game -- who in his right mind would want to dredge up all that pain again? -- but he soon comes to realize that the Naval psychiatrist, played by Denzel Washington, really has his well-being at heart. Once Antwone learns to trust, he is able to open the floodgates to reveal the puzzle pieces which comprise his tormented childhood. Antwone is an intelligent man who was abandoned by his mother, constantly kicked down by his foster "family" and others, and somehow still has the courage to pick himself up and dust himself off after such shameful mental, physical and emotional abuse by the people who should have cared for him and protected him in his formative years. It's great to see an abused child overcome the pain and grow up to become a mature, courageous, well-adjusted man with the help of therapy and true friendships. I was more interested in the psychological aspect of this movie than the romantic one -- purely a matter of personal taste -- but the scenes between Cheryl and Antwone were enjoyable and sweet and their chemistry was good. All in all, I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. Thanks again, Amazon!
Rating:
Summary: Terrific overall, but not without slack
Review: "Antwone Fisher" is a brilliant movie that melds into a pretty OK movie. It tells the story of a young sailor whose "anger management" problems are so severe they make a cannon look like a firecracker. Sensing great potential and even superiority beneath Antwone's self-destructive acting out, Navy base psychiatrist (Denzel Washington) goes that extra mile, and goads and teases out the fear lurking beneath Antwone's slapped-on, stoic exterior that occasionally erupts into unbelieable, unaccountable rage. During sessions, the shrink discovers what Antwone has to find for himself: his built-in anger resulted in an unwitting flawed personality as a result of early childhood abuse. Antwone is a very tough case, but such a special case that Washington's character will step up to the edge--maybe over--Navy rules and regs about his professional level of commitment. Denzel wants to see a healing heart and soul. The Navy wants an obedient grunt who won't cause trouble. Antwone doesn't think it's that big a deal. Washington as always is superb and versatile. Notice how in "Training Day" he could act with full body, voice and torso? In this film, watch the wattage he can throw with a sneer, a raised eyebrow, a crooked smile. He's throwing his patient all kinds of psychiatric spitballs that we can figure out in extreme closeup; but his desired goal his reached--to irritate Antwone without giving him reason to feel truly provoked. (Is there any genre of film this man CANNOT do? Should he move into comedy next and be a uni-talent like Spencer Tracy?) All the cast is good, no rotten apples or mediocrities. My chief objection to this film -- not a small one -- is that what critics call Act Three is too slick, easy and middle-class; it seems to have been gleaned, adapted and edited from the Kenmorish teleplays of the 1980s or 1990s. In my opinion this is disrespectful to Antwone and his family in several ways: It glosses over the difficulty of his search for his biological family (one brief scene shows him and his girlfriend frienzedly tearing through out-of-town phone directories, a token gesture); it didn't have the time to explore any kind of relationship with Antwone's new relatives; and it didn't follow through on Antwone's psychological state. Under a psychiatrist the poor abused young man had gone from confrontation to conversion, but that isn't enough: he had to go from conversion to care. Naturally, the best way to do that is to understand which, if not all, of your past isn't your fault, but someone with a rough history still has to work at it. This story has a true happy ending, but when the audience isn't allowed to share fully all of it, we feel cheated. Act Two held the climaxes. What critics usually call Act Three, in which Antwone begins the legwork, is well-meaning but condensed and flat. There's no one to point the finger to, really, except for loose plotting and everyone's whipping boy, TV, where we've been Hallmark-Hall-of-Fame'd for 40 years during which light sentimental stories are passed off as "drama." So unfortunately, "Antwone Fisher's" last act more or less shifts genres: way from the roughness and the surprise, the ugliness and the revelation, the horror and the hope. For the reasons above and perhaps to fit a movie theater's turnaround schedule (?), it didn't do justice to Twone's saga, nor his family, the structure of the last part didn't hold up, and I felt let down at the end. Nonetheless the virtues of this film far outweigh any defect one might find. I heartily recommend "Antwone Fisher" in any medium. My preference is for Widescreen because the film was shot to fit that kind of frame.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding
Review: Other's have written about this outstanding film with more eloquence than I can muster. This is one of those rare films where script, directing, and performances all come together to form a moving document which will be treasured by future generations. It should be required viewing by every young person as a testament to one man's overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Interestingly enough, there are some people who just don't "get it." Such were the bigwigs in Cleveland politics who were invited to the local premiere of the film, with Antwone Fisher and Denzel Washington in attendance. After the film, they all went into their "how proud we are" speeches about Mr. Fisher being a product of the Cleveland area. Not one of them mentioned, however, that Cleveland's social "safety net" failed him again and again, placing him in the care of an abusive foster mother and huckster preacher. It was their (or their predecessors') failure which put Mr. Fisher in jeopardy. It was the Navy and a compassionate psychiatrist (played by Denzel Washington) who saved Antwone Fisher, not Cleveland.
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