It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

It’s an especially fun movie from a director and cast who are clearly having a good time allowing themselves to let loose.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Based on a true story: Phiona Mutesi (Madina Nalwanga) is a ten-year old living in the slum district of Katwe, Uganda. Through the kind and able mentoring of a local missionary (David Oyelowo), she discovers the joys of chess and realizes a potential that is beyond her life circumstances. "Queen of Katwe" is an American film and in the English language.The film's first half is very appealing especially as it exposes class struggle and prejudice in various situations. Phiona is seen as the poorest of the poor when she first learns chess among neigbourhood peers; later, she and her new peers face further barriers and snobbery as their collective and individual talents take them to much higher places. It is more than just a battle against other chess opponents. The bigger battle is the internal voice that says, "I don't belong here" when sent to places that radically differ from the Katwe slums.Sadly, the film sags in the second half. It is even more disappointing that the directing is by Mira Nair who has done so well with other films especially "Monsoon Wedding" back in 2001. Despite the depth of the inspiring story in the first half, a blandness takes over in the second. This is unfortunate considering the movie's potential. In any case, Oyelowo is moving as the father-like figure - not surprising considering his fine work in "Selma".

A Disney film that is close to perfection. More satisfying if it matches reality. This is really well done, with real chess moves to make you think, the slum is realistic although maybe too nice to be true, but maybe true, great acting and an incredible beauty for Phiona and her mom, and many others. The acting included the local language, adding another layer of veracity. Great rags to riches story, ideal for Disney. My only bemol: it ends at the riches. Somewhat anticlimactic.

It's been a long time since I've seen such potent material be hampered so badly by average acting and an equally average script and while Mira Nair's Queen of Katwe still gets extra marks for being such a nice and inspiring true story, this Disney effort feels like a big missed opportunity.Delivering dialogue that's clunky via amateurish acting, scenes that are shoddily edited and placed together and a general feel as though this tale is building up to a moment that never even comes, Katwe squanders the tale of young Ugandan chess master Phiona Mutesi in an overlong film that wants to tug at our heart strings but can't do so due to its execution.Nair is a director with some decent runs on the board with films like The Namesake and Vanity Fair and while Katwe includes notable cast members like Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o and the ever good David Oyelowo, the two performers can't elevate the films supporting cast, made up largely of unknowns and by the end of proceedings it feels as though only Oyelowo walks away with the ability to say he could hold his head up high.It's always harsh to pick on a first time performer as a point of blame but newcomer Madina Nalwanga struggles to bring the difficult role of Mutesi to life and her often emotionally void presence that is bereft of any engaging elements mixed with a disappointing collection of key scenes delivered without an ounce of conviction really kill the chances Nair and her team had of bringing the underdog story of the impoverished and uneducated Mutesi to life, even though the story itself and surrounds of the slums of Uganda hold much life that could've come bursting onto the big screen.Final say – An inspiring true story that's unfortunately told without an ounce of inspiration itself, The Queen of Katwe may appeal greatly to those that count chess as a favourite past time and some die-hard Disney fans but this Disney sports film is easily one of the mouse house's most disappointing feel good sport themed movies in sometime and goes to show that casting and script work makes or breaks movies no matter the foundation.2 smelly chess opponents out of 5

I was hesitant to see the movie, although I marked it for my 2016 must watch list some time ago. There were things that discouraged me to prioritize this movie before all the other I have seen from 2016 so far - like its Disney poster, its genre of "from the bottom to the top" (always a danger to fall into clichés), and lack of exposure and reviews.I am glad I finally watched it today, as it successfully managed to avoid clichés and 2D story-line so often seen in this genre and clichés of over-romanticizing of poverty and Africa in general. I think that the main reason this movie didn't succeed much in USA or Europe on commercial merit is that people didn't really get through those clichés yet. That, and perhaps the African accent that to some western ears may sound "too stupid and slow", so people often correlate that with intelligence of people who speak it.For me, it was refreshing to see finally a good movie set out in Africa and even more so, I applaud the director's decision to shoot it in actual Katwe. It added up on the scale of authenticity and I bet it helped to facilitate actors performance as well- which is also on very high level. I especially liked Lupita Nyong'o's portrayal of the mother of Phiona - the main hero of the story. But surprisingly all child actors are really good too, even though most of them (I heard) never stood before camera (or maybe exactly because of that).As I mentioned the story is classical "from the bottom to the top" genre, but what sets this movie apart from its stereotype genre is willingness to explore characters depth, and not only that of the protagonist (Phiona), but movie managed also to depict other characters with depth and I'd say there are three protagonists in this movie: Phiona (chess prodigy), her mother, and her coach Robert Katende. Story explores their limitations and strength, with nuance, character and intelligence. There are some beautiful scenes where characters above realize their own limitations and as they try to find the way to support each other's strength despite their embarrassment. So mainly this emotional intelligence and nuance set the movie apart from clichés of its genre.Also there are many subtle references to class prejudices in Uganda (which, I think, people from every country can relate to). So bonus point for that too. We saw not just poor slums of Uganda - the dirt, poverty and tacit acceptance of it, we also saw middle class Uganda and upper rich class of Western-like style of Uganda. It was all too familiar to watch the power relations withing Uganda, although with different colour and context.All in all, a story that deserved to be told. I thought it's impossible to make a movie about chess, but this movie kind of made me thinking about learning it! And all in all, a movie that deserves to be watched and acknowledged.I definitely liked it a lot and even managed to shed a tear here and there! I also liked the final credits where you could see the actors standing besides the real people they portrayed in the movie.