Spike Lee claps back with his new film BlacKkKlansman, based on the true story of Colorado Springs cop Ron Stallworth. The story highlights a particular time in the late 1970s when Stallworth became the first black cop in the city and worked undercover as a detective infiltrating the Ku Klux Clan. Stallworth is played by John David Washington (Book of Eli, Malcolm X) who does a nice job of not being over the top. Which makes it believable that he was able to fool the Grand Wizard himself, David Duke, played by Topher Grace. Another notable performances is Adam Driver, who plays detective Flip Zimmerman.

The obvious racial overtone is biting, as it pretty much is a historical commentary of current events. In fact, Lee includes footage of Black Lives Matter marches and recent KKK demonstrations. But the most powerful moments in the film are actually humorous. I was not expecting that level of comedy. It highlights the absurdity of racism itself. Probably my favorite line in the film is when Stallworth is talking to David Duke and Duke is going on and on about all the ‘good white’ things that make America great, in which Stallworth responds, ‘man, you really are white.’ Such a simple line but the delivery is spot on and the message clear, yeah, this is complete absurdness and ignorance that was being dealt with at the time. What is Lee saying? Look how we’ve come in 2018, actually, society seems to be going backwards.

What I like about this film is that it is Lee at his finest. He’s had some misses in the recent past. I wasn’t too fond of ‘Chir-Raq,’ mostly because the first half of that film was really good and then blew up into ridiculousness in the second half. In contrast to BlacKkKlansman where there is a good balance of those big powerful moments, but you catch those little ones that drive the message home.

And the cast is perfect too. Stallworth serves as the outsider, the audience and in the beginning it’s really hard to assess his motives. But the audience takes that journey with him from rookie cop to a person who did something so brave. I also took it as a message of there were other players in the civil rights movement, that may not have been great orators or party leaders, but they were the people putting their life on the line, quietly behind the scenes.

The dialogue and the chemistry between the characters is gold. A movie is when when it has those delicious super villains. You know the ones we love to hate. What’s a Superman without a Lex Luther? But get a good Lex like Gene Hackman. In BlacKkKlansman, there are plenty of good ones that make the final middle finger scene probably one of the best ‘screw you’ moments of all time. Topher Grace got a role that finally made me stop associating him with Eric Forman. His portrayal of Duke has just the right amount of conviction and ease that almost makes him likable. But then there are the really nasty ones like suspicious of everyone clans member Felix (Jasper Pääkkönen) who, at times, seems too nuts for some of his fellow clansmen. And Felix’s wife Connie (Ashlie Atkinson) takes delusional to another level.

But there is no denying the spot on performances from Washington and Driver. They are the whole heart of the film. They elegantly represent the good and the brave. Another poignant moment in the film is a scene where Stallworth basically asks Zimmerman why he’s not furious with the clan’s hatred towards the Jews (Zimmerman being Jewish). And Zimmerman gives an explanation that he hasn’t really thought about these things before. That he ‘never even had a bar mitzvah.’ It’s that moment that calls out to the dormant in society, and I saw Zimmerman’s actions after that scene as the awakening.

What is the awakening? The awakening of normal citizens who preferred not get involved. The awakening of the disenfranchised community. The awakening of young people to join organizations, such as the Black Panther party in order to make radical change. Lee crams this all in without it feel excessive or preachy.

The only complaint is that I did think having stock footage of Trump speeches and the tragedies of recent rallies was not necessary. The story holds enough power that we know it can be seen as a response to what’s going on in America today. I think Lee’s audience is intelligent enough to see the message, that the past is being repeated and that people need to wake up. I also was not too fond of Zimmerman’s love interest, Patrice (Laura Harrier), who was  is a student organizer and is responsible for bringing the Black Panther leader Kwame Ture (Corey Hawkins) to Colorado Springs. I just wasn’t convinced with the chemistry between them. It is the weakest relationship between characters in the film.

But that being said, this film is definitely worth seeing at least twice since it’s probably one of Lee’s best. The overall BlacKkKlansman is that it is a near perfect film and should be regarded as one of Lee’s best works. There are so many good lines. The conversations between Stallworth and Duke are worth the price of admission. It will probably evoke memories of Dave Chapelle’s famous character Clayton Bigsby, the black white supremacist. The music selection is also fantastic and includes selections from James Brown, Looking Glass, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Otis Redding, making it a nod to the good things of that time. And, of course, the importance of the film’s message makes this an instant classic.