Living with her strong-willed single mother (Lupita Nyong'o) and siblings in an impoverished and turbulent Kampala neighborhood, adolescent Phiona (Madina Nalwanga) spends her days selling corn on the street. She has no particular hope or plan for the future until she encounters a friendly youth-ministry teacher (David Oyelowo). He introduces her to the game of chess and discovers she has a profound and prodigious, if uncultivated talent for it. Co-produced by ESPN Films, Queen of Katwe is another entry in Disney's canon of inspirational sports stories; it sits there alongside Remember the Titans, Miracle (arguably the best), and Invincible. It is, on paper, a picture bound to and driven by formula; a film where one can set his or her watch to every harsh obstacle and unexpected triumph. The execution, however, is refreshing and rewarding. Director Mira Nair, the splashily colorful stylist known for Mississippi Masala and Monsoon Wedding, infuses the underdog-to-champion arc with texture, vitality, and an independent spirit. The depiction of poverty contains genuine grit (the verisimilitude is aided by on-location filming in Uganda, as well as South Africa), and there is considerable warmth in the film's femininity. And the picture is buoyed further by a trio of exemplary performances. In her first major live-action role since 12 Years a Slave, Nyong'o is a force of nature, exuding a fiery brand of maternal concern and devotion. Her every gesture conveys the anxiety of a life defined by scarcity and marginalization. Oyelowo is a charismatic and valiant presence as the altruistic chess instructor without ever becoming treacly or inauthentic, and Nalwanga delivers an auspicious and quietly elegant performance (her very first) as Phiona.

B+

Queen of Katwe is a noble effort to bring the reality of Africa to multiplex audiences. When was the last time we had a feel good Hollywood movie set in modern day Africa? But with just the right touch of Disneyfication, Amelia Nair does indeed make it accessible. Unfortunately, in it's other guise as a sports underdog movie, it does drag a bit. Despite being based on a true story, this movie would have really benefitted by tightening up its third quarter where Phiona suffers her setback - this would have made a truly inspiring 90 minute film. *B*

This was a sweet movie. It doesn't reinvent the formula at all and I definitely felt it was Disney-fied a bit, but it's very well done and compelling. The two hour runtime flew by for me. All three of the lead performers are fantastic, particularly Lupita N'yongo. B