Was this movie good? Sure. Was this movie great? No...

Throwing Brad Pitt in your movie for two scenes, Paul Giamatti for two scenes, and Benedict Cumberbatch for three scenes doesn't really impress me. It's like, oh hey, we got these A-listers in this movie, so it must be good right? Staying on the slavery theme, I really thought Amistad was much better than this was. And sorry to Lupita Nyong'o, but Oscar worthy performance? Didn't really seem like it being she was short on lines and screen time. Chiwetel Ejiofor as the lead was probably the only character in this entire movie that held my interest, but even his performance is dwarfed by Djimon Hounsou in Amistad. Was this the case of the Academy trying to make a statement again, such as it did with Halle Berry and Monster's Ball?