Powell was a Black civil rights leader from the 1940's through the late 1960's. He started off as the son of a popular preacher and came to take his place. Using what could be called a bully pulpit, he used whatever means necessary to push for the advancement of his people in terms of jobs, treatment by governmental bodies and corporate America, and political agendas. He smoked, drank, and caroused like any other man in his position, not caring about the status quo. As he rose from preacher to Alderman and then to Congressman, he had a take-no-prisoners attitude. As a political opportunist, he stepped on a number of people in order to further his vision, and himself, over all else. Always making headlines, he has a flashy style that many found bothersome and eventually he ended up in political exile on a small island, awaiting the courts to rule on his return. Eventually, he was exonerated of charges that got him thrown out of office but he died shortly afterwards and never returned to the level of power he had achieved before his fall.

The biographical material displayed in the movie was of questionable accuracy but I think it portrayed the life of the man fairly well in general terms. The man was a character with many flaws, most of which were barely touched on in this whirlwind look at his life. If the movie helps provide some younger people with the incentive to learn more about him and his contributions to the advancement of civil rights, than it will have done it's job. The over-the-top acting by Harry Lennix, portraying the man himself, was in contrast to the very pleasant job done by Vanessa Williams as his second wife. The supporting cast was all reasonably talented but this was not a big budget release so its limitations were glaring. The technical limitations were the worst aspect of the release with the lack of extras making this barebones dvd worth a rating of Rent It only.

Picture: The picture was presented in 1.33:1 ratio full frame as originally shot. There was a lot of grain, color saturation, and other problems including compression artifacts, which marred the picture. The lighting was off and that contributed to some fleshtones looking off as well.

Sound: The sound was presented in Dolby Digital stereo 2.0 with minimal separation between the audio tracks. It was generally about average for vocals and the music was a bit better.

Extras: There were none.

Final Thoughts: I thought the basic story, as limited as it was, was worth checking out if you'd like to see a small look at the man. I think the man's story would've been worth a series of movies and the parts passed over here were actually the best. Powell led many of President Johnson's reforms in Congress and even though many of them have been shown as failed attempts to redistribute wealth, knowing how they were passed against the better interests of the vast majority of the country, the power-politics behind that legislation would've made a far more interesting story.