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In the press materials for “Critical Thinking,” producer Carla Berkowitz drops this line about her reaction to reading the true story that inspired the film: “The image and story was haunting and I felt like I had a quantum shift in my perception of chess and who plays it.” The who in question are five Miami-area Black and Latino men who, along with their teacher, Mr. Martinez, brought back to their underprivileged Florida neighborhood the U.S. National Chess Championship. This happened in 1998. The film chronicles the loving camaraderie of the players and the events leading up to their victory.

In that same press release, acclaimed writer and actor John Leguizamo , who plays Martinez and also directs, states that he wanted to make this film because there were very few representations of Latin people on-screen when he was growing up. He also mentioned that the book The Bell Curve  harmfully depicted people of color as being mentally inferior due to our genetics. I wondered if, like me, Leguizamo grew up in an environment where the Black and brown people he knew played chess, so that it wouldn’t seem unusual nor an anomaly that they did. Because Berkowitz’s statement really made me consider what exactly the standard issue chess player was supposed to look like.

Chess has appeared in a lot of movies, from Boaz Yakin ’s “ Fresh ” to Steven Zaillian ’s “Searching for Bobby Fisher” to 2016’s superb Mira Nair film, “ Queen of Katwe .” I even remember it being prevalent in a crappy Gary Coleman TV movie about a smart Black kid. The game always carries the same symbolic qualifier: the person who plays it has a mental capacity for strategy and is intelligent. Chess is often employed to teach life lessons in these movies, to the point where it has become a cliché that just so happens to be used differently depending on who’s playing it. This difference is something that I admit often sticks in my craw, so I found myself wrestling a bit with this movie even though it seemed to be addressing my concern.

Unlike Zaillian’s film, which I guess answers my question of what a “standard issue” chess player is supposed to look like, the protagonists in the other films I’ve mentioned, and in “Critical Thinking,” are people of color whose economical circumstances are far from ideal. This tends to be the model when minorities are seen playing chess in films, which bends the cinematic chess player cliché toward making the ability to play the game the audience’s reason to offer empathy. Sure, they’re broke, probably in crime-ridden areas and may even do a crime or two, but see, they’re smart, so it’s OK to feel for them! This line of thinking has to do with who stereotypically plays chess and who does not.

Leguizamo’s Mr. Martinez speaks to this early in “Critical Thinking” by asking why chess is never associated with brown people despite a Latin man playing a major role in its evolution. “Why don’t you think we know about him?” he asks the students in his critical thinking class before delivering a great, pointed monologue that speaks about how history is taught in schools. The script by Dito Montiel has some sharp commentary about the education system, from what gets funded to the over-reliance on test scores to the differences between Martinez’s inner city school and the posh preppy institutions who fall victim to our heroes on the tournament circuit. There’s a bit more bite than you may be expecting, and the writing is just prickly enough to balance out the moments when the film dives headfirst into its tropes. And there are numerous tropes to swim in; not only is this a sports movie, it’s also an entry in the “Beloved Teacher” genre.

Our chess champion team is comprised of Sedrick Roundtree ( Corwin C. Tuggles ), Ito Paniagua (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.), Gil Luna ( Will Hochman ), Rodelay Medina (Angel Curiel) and later, Marcel Martinez ( Jeffry Batista ) who joins the team after dispensing a hustler’s ass-whipping in a speed chess match. Their dialogue is peppered with the language the PG-13 won’t allow but realism will. Martinez is often telling them “watch your mouth” in his class, even if, in his less guarded moments, he’s prone to occasional profanity. Leguizamo gets good performances from each of them, especially in moments where you really feel the bond between teammates, both in the tournaments and in the streets. When they tell each other that they’ve got each other’s backs, there’s a real emotional pull that emanates straight from the actors.

Though this is an inspirational movie, Leguizamo and Montiel never sugarcoat the dangers of the environment their characters inhabit. The potential for violence, temporary homelessness, crime, and police harassment are always hovering in the margins, sometimes even invading the safe space of Martinez’s class or the school. An early sequence that shockingly ends in violence shows how good Leguizamo is at quickly establishing the audience’s tie to a character. When Rivera (Dre C) is thrown into critical thinking class after a disciplinary problem (“my class is not detention!” Martinez yells at frenemy Principal Kesler [ Rachel Bay Jones ]), he immediately runs afoul of Ito. Rivera’s lack of response is due to Spanish being his primary language, which may also have something to do with the infraction that got him sent to this class. Martinez talks to him in Spanish, lectures Ito and all seems well.

Rivera is then brutally assassinated in broad daylight after accidentally bumping into another person on the street. The film is barely 15 minutes old when this happens, but it immediately establishes that “Critical Thinking” has no plans of abandoning reality for its feel-good message. That sense of realism extends to the way the characters bond with, rib, and defend each other. Additionally, Leguizamo plays Martinez as someone who understands the temptations and frustrations of his students’ world. He challenges them to do for themselves because he knows all too well that the system has no intention of lending a helping hand.

Like Nair does in “Queen of Katwe,” Leguizamo also blatantly refuses to impose on poverty any notions of shame or requests for pity. “Chess is the great equalizer,” Martinez tells his team as they navigate snooty tournament heads and appearances against challengers from much posher ‘hoods. Even when things get expectedly dire for some of the characters, “Critical Thinking” remains focused on the characters’ response to the situation, never once stripping them of their dignity for cheap emotional manipulation.

Of all the team members, Sedrick has the most detailed arc. He has a girlfriend, Chanayah ( Zora Casebere ), who is supportive and tougher than she looks, and a father ( Michael Kenneth Williams ) whose sole job here is to fill that chess movie trope of the angry guy who uses chess as a means of brutal domination. Williams is an always welcome presence, but I could have done without him. Still, there is one very good moment where he shows some growth, and his son makes a snide comment that he silently acknowledges as being right.

The chess scenes are good even if you know nothing about chess. I’ve been playing since I was five, so of course I wanted more detailed representations than Leguizamo provides. I found his classroom lessons and the team’s banter about moves fascinating, and every time I was given a good look at a chessboard, I got closer to the screen to investigate. And yet, despite its acknowledgement of my aforementioned issues, I still felt a little itchy watching “Critical Thinking.” I am always game for a movie that makes me reckon with my personal feelings and biases, and I’m glad this one exists because representation will always speak volumes. If nothing else, “Critical Thinking” reminds you what a chess player can look like.

Odie Henderson

Odie "Odienator" Henderson has spent over 33 years working in Information Technology. He runs the blogs Big Media Vandalism and Tales of Odienary Madness. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire  here .

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Film Credits

Critical Thinking (2020)

117 minutes

John Leguizamo as Mario Martinez

Rachel Bay Jones as Principal Kestel

Michael Kenneth Williams as Mr. Roundtree

Corwin C. Tuggles as Sedrick Roundtree

Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as Ito Paniagua

Angel Bismark Curiel as Rodelay Medina

Will Hochman as Gil Luna

Jeffry Batista as Marcel Martinez

Zora Casebere as Chanayah

• John Leguizamo
• Dito Montiel

Cinematographer

• Zach Zamboni
• Jamie Kirkpatrick
• Chris Hajian

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Critical Thinking

2020, Drama, 1h 57m

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Critics Consensus

Strategic in delivering all the feels, Critical Thinking is a good old-fashioned underdog story that marks a winning directorial debut for John Leguizamo. Read critic reviews

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Critical thinking videos, critical thinking   photos.

Miami -- 1998. Poverty, broken families, and a prejudiced system push underprivileged youth to the fringes of society. But for a magnetic group of teens, there's a reprieve. A game where it's not about where you come from, but how you play. That equalizer is chess. Mr. "T" Martinez, a chess militant and passionate coach, leads them to a completely foreign field of battle.

Genre: Drama

Original Language: English

Director: John Leguizamo

Producer: Jason Mandl , Scott M. Rosenfelt

Writer: Dito Montiel

Release Date (Theaters): Sep 4, 2020  limited

Release Date (Streaming): Sep 4, 2020

Runtime: 1h 57m

Distributor: Vertical Entertainment

Production Co: Perfect Balance, Cinema Veritas, NRSP, Hialeah Park Studios

Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

Cast & Crew

John Leguizamo

Mario Martinez

Rachel Bay Jones

Principal Kestel

Michael Kenneth Williams

Mr. Roundtree

Corwin C. Tuggles

Sedrick Roundtree

Jorge Lendeborg

Ito Paniagua

Angel Bismark Curiel

Rodelay Medina

Will Hochman

Zora Casebere

Jeffry Batista

Marcel Martinez

Dito Montiel

Screenwriter

Jason Mandl

Scott M. Rosenfelt

Carla Berkowitz

Executive Producer

Harvey Chaplin

Emilio Estefan

Zachary Zamboni

Cinematographer

Jamie Kirkpatrick

Film Editing

Chris Hajian

Original Music

J. Mark Harrington

Production Design

Lewis Zucker

Art Director

Set Decoration

Danny Santiago

Costume Design

Avy Kaufman

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Critical thinking (2020).

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Chess is the great equalizer

Based on a true story from 1998, five Latino and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher.

John Leguizamo

Dito Montiel

Top Billed Cast

Mario Martinez

Rachel Bay Jones

Principal Kestel

Michael Kenneth Williams

Mr. Roundtree

Corwin C. Tuggles

Sedrick Roundtree

Jorge Lendeborg Jr.

Ito Paniagua

Angel Bismark Curiel

Rodelay Medina

Will Hochman

Jeffry Batista

Marcel Martinez

Zora Casebere

Full Cast & Crew

• Discussions 0

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Status Released

Original Language English

• miami, florida
• high school
• based on true story
• chess tournament

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Critical thinking.

2020 Directed by John Leguizamo

Chess is the great equalizer

Based on a true story from 1998, five Latino and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher.

John Leguizamo Rachel Bay Jones Michael Kenneth Williams Corwin C. Tuggles Jorge Lendeborg Jr. Angel Bismark Curiel Will Hochman Jeffry Batista Zora Casebere Ramses Jimenez Todd Allen Durkin Brandon Somers Isaac Beverly Ruben E. A. Brown Sydney Arroyo Carlos Guerrero Michele Lepe Tatum Price

Director Director

John Leguizamo

Producers Producers

Scott M. Rosenfelt Elayne Schneiderman Schmidt Jason Mandl Joseph Krutel

Executive Producers Exec. Producers

John Leguizamo Emilio Estefan Jr. Carla Berkowitz Harvey Chaplin

Writer Writer

Dito Montiel

Casting Casting

Avy Kaufman

Editor Editor

Jamie Kirkpatrick

Cinematography Cinematography

Zach Zamboni

Production Design Production Design

J. Mark Harrington

Art Direction Art Direction

Lewis Zucker

Set Decoration Set Decoration

Composer composer.

Chris Hajian

Costume Design Costume Design

Danny Santiago

Hairstyling Hairstyling

Carol Raskin

Cinema Veritas NRSP Perfect Balance

Original Language

Spoken languages.

English Spanish

Releases by Date

18 dec 2020, 21 jan 2021, 04 sep 2020, 05 may 2021, releases by country, russian federation.

• Theatrical 18+
• Theatrical 輔12級

117 mins   More at IMDb TMDb Report this page

Popular reviews

Review by Dave Taylor ★★½ 5

I know nothing about chess, but based on the overview given in this movie, it is the most random game in the whole world.

I think therein lies the problem for casual viewers checking this out. I watch hockey about as much as I play chess, but I know if the puck goes in the net, the team that put the puck in the net gets a point. They try to film the chess matches in a similar fashion to your standard sports movies, but I didn’t feel any tension mount (except for the last match) because there didn’t seem to be any rhyme or reason to what pieces were being moved. I only knew the good guys won after…

Review by JBird ★★★

Leguizamo wants his students to Critical Think, Like how to draw or come back from the brink. Although no one planned it, The year of the Gambit, With two chess submissions that don't stink.

Review by Joshua Arispe ★★★ 4

I should probably start off by mentioning that I’m an avid chess player. Chess is the greatest game ever invented and I play it quite often. Some friends of mine also worked on this movie, which I think is pretty cool. So I had many reasons to give Critical Thinking a watch. 

It clicked with me right away. Not as inspiring as it tries to be (thanks to some lame subplots and side characters) but I enjoyed the in-depth look at chess and John Leguizamo as the instantly likeable teacher. Reminded me a lot of Edward James Olmos’ Jaime Escalante from Stand and Deliver . He nails the role and made me wish I had a teacher like him. Hell, I…

Review by Karl ★★★

The true story of a chess team from an underfunded, underserved Florida public high school. Fortunately they have a passionate teacher, Mr. Martinez, who will do whatever it takes to get them to the chess finals in Beverly Hills. Sure it's cliche and you've seen variations of this underdog can-do spirit/inspirational story before, but when it's done right it can be among the most rewarding of viewings.

It's the kind of film that feels great while watching it, but won't likely stay with you, preventing from transcending the formula. The young actors make things worthwhile, particularly Jorge Lendeborg Jr., who has it the roughest of the five players. Also on hand is the late Michael Kenneth Williams. John Leguizamo, who…

Review by Luke Robertson ★★★½

I love this genre of movie. Underdog sports team come together to completely overcome the odds. It’s not my favourite in the genre but it is still a good movie. The cast are decent as well. If you are a fan of high school dramas then I think you’ll enjoy this.

Review by danielle ⚡ ★★ 1

movies can't be formulaic and long like pick a struggle

Review by Tim McClelland ★★★½ 1

There are many films of this type. We've seen the inspirational teacher with the underdog students fighting for their time to shine. When you start watching a film that follows that formula, it will need something special to help it stand out. This movie has cliched elements, but it also has heart and it had me on edge even though I knew the outcome. It took a little time to get me invested, but once I was, I was all in on the movie. It is a great true story so to see it made into a pretty decent film is awesome. I really enjoyed watching this. There is a great story here that has some wonderful characters and it will leave you feeling good. If a movie like this leaves me with a smile on my face, I'd say it did its job just fine.

Review by Justin Decloux ★★★½

I am a sucker for an 'Based on a True Story' underdog sports movie, and the fact that this is about chess (a game I have no interest in playing, but I love due to ti's simple complexity), and stars (and was directed by) John Leguizamo makes this even more my kind of thing. It hits all the expected beats, kind of muddles it's finale (Oh, that's it?), and is directed in a workman like fashion, but I still found it a thrill.

I will continue to not play chess.

Watched for The Bay Street Video Podcast : soundcloud.com/thebaystreetvideopodcast

Review by Jacob Knight ★★★

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

John Leguizamo’s feature directorial debut is an R-rated, Dito Montiel scripted after school special about inner city Miami kids winning the US National Chess Championship in ‘98. It hits every beat you expect it to, including Leguizamo (who plays the boys’ coach/teacher/mentor) reading poetry to his class, and even has one of the would-be champs return to the streets to sell drugs for a local assassin after he loses his job. And you know what? That’s fine, because even though Leguizamo isn’t a born filmmaker (the direction here is the very definition of “workmanlike”) he injects street smarts and a POV that, when combined with the troupe young/non-actors, makes it all feel lived-in as opposed to schmaltzy (which, I mean, it still totally is). Maybe I’m just a sucker for this sort of thing, but the amount of screen time devoted to the strategic history of chess alone made the dorkier parts of my brain light up.

Review by Nicholas Faron ★★★½

I've never understood chess, but hot damn is it exciting to watch (on screen that is).

Review by waz ★★★½ 2

Coach Carter meets Fresh meets The Queen’s Gambit . There’s truly nothing more exhilarating than seeing two individuals duke it out on one of the most ancient boardgames in history.

With the release of The Queens Gambit  as well as the sudden surge by many popular Twitch streamers, 2020 was a great year for chess that brought hundreds of newcomers to the game. Although this film in particular may have slipped under the radar during the chess boom, it has plenty of heart to it and finishes on a strong, inspirational note. There’s a bit of something for all chess players to be able to relate to or enjoy here whether it’s seeing the camaraderie within a tight-knit team or the familiar intrigue of…

Review by Jason Pettus ★★½

2020 movie viewings, #121. I simply had to watch this 2020 film when I learned of its existence last week, just to see if someone really did have the balls to make yet another "Tough Yet Lovable High Teacher Saves The Lives Of His Tough Inner City Students" film, literally decades after the trope had already become a laughable Oscarbait cliche , and that ever since 1988's Stand and Deliver has been basically the same exact movie made over and over and over and over and over. Yep, they sure did!!! In this case the blame can be placed squarely on the shoulders of director and star John Leguizamo, who I'm a great admirer of when it comes to some of…

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The full cast of Critical Thinking

Here you will find an overview of the cast of the movie Critical Thinking from the year 2020, including all the actors, actresses and the director. When you click on the name of an actor, actress or director from the movie Critical Thinking-cast you can watch more movies and/or series by him or her. Click here for more infomation about the movie.

We have made an overview that includes: actors , directors , the production team , the camera team , writers and other crew members .

John Leguizamo

Dito Montiel

Actors & actresses.

Jorge Lendeborg Jr.

Angel Bismark Curiel

Rachel Bay Jones

Michael Kenneth Williams

Corwin C. Tuggles

Will Hochman

Jeffry Batista

Zora Casebere

Ramses Jimenez

Todd Allen Durkin

Brandon Somers

Isaac Beverly

Ruben E.A. Brown

Sydney Arroyo

Carlos Guerrero

Michele Lepe

Tatum Price

Artistic design.

Lewis Zucker

J. Mark Harrington

Zach Zamboni

Costume & makeup.

Danny Santiago

Carol Raskin

Movie editing.

Jamie Kirkpatrick

John J. Brunetti Jr.

Avy Kaufman

Elayne Schneiderman Schmidt

Joseph Krutel

Emilio Estefan

Harvey Chaplin

Carla Berkowitz

Scott M. Rosenfelt

Jason Mandl

Chris Hajian

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Critical Thinking — Cast & Crew

John leguizamo.

Rachel Bay Jones

Michael Kenneth Williams

Corwin C. Tuggles

Jorge Lendeborg Jr.

Angel Bismark Curiel

Jeffry Batista

Will Hochman

Zora Casebere

Ramses Jimenez

Isaac Beverly

Todd Allen Durkin

Sydney Arroyo

Mike Benitez

John Manzelli

Betsy Graver

Landon Price

Gabriel Bonilla

Ruben e. a. brown.

Michele Lepe

Gene Harding

Tatum Price

Brandon Somers

Christy Antonio

Mario Martinez

Sedrick roundtree, oelmy paniagua, marcel martinez, rodelay medina, david brownstein.

Joshua Ritter

Daniel Augustin

Emily Leguizamo

Fernando morales.

Carlos Guerrero

Danitza Vazquez Maccarini

Hotty mathias.

Abigail Cannon

Celine alva.

Gabrielle Barlatier

Alex Bernadotte

Monica Kaufer

Darcy Klebs

Ezell Willis

Brandi Huzzie

Marsha Feldman

Francis allen.

Sidnei Barboza

Santos Caraballo

Bryan Cobaris

K.C. Colebrooke

Patrick h. fox.

Burton Gazzara

Joseph giambrone.

Francisco D Gonzalez

Kyera Greene

David w. leblanc.

P.J. Martinez

Eneida mascetti.

Nelisa Nieto

Darrell nutter, carmen pelaez.

Mitch Silver

Andrea Terrasa

Dondre Tuck

Paul Aldanée

Dito montiel.

Jason Mandl

Scott M. Rosenfelt

Joseph Krutel

Elayne Schneiderman Schmidt

Carla berkowitz.

Harvey Chaplin

Emilio estefan jr..

John J. Brunetti Jr.

Zach zamboni.

Chris Hajian

Chris Foster

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Critical Thinking , Movie About Miami Jackson's Chess Champs, Available for Download

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Critical Thinking

Common sense media reviewers.

Underdog chess team defies odds but plays into stereotypes.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Positive themes of teamwork and defiance against t

Main characters are depicted as underdogs whose su

Frequent gun use. One character is abruptly shot a

Occasional kissing.

Frequent use of the words "f--k," "s--t," and "ass

Adults get drunk. Underage characters smoke cigare

Parents need to know that Critical Thinking is a fact-based drama about a high school chess team from an underserved community that defies the odds to make it to the U.S. National Chess Championship. Directed by and starring John Leguizamo, the movie has frequent swearing ("f--k," "s--t," etc.), underage…

Positive Messages

Positive themes of teamwork and defiance against the odds are prevalent. While it exposes some of the broken systems in public education, it fails to fully portray its teen characters' humanity, contributing to problematic stereotypes.

Positive Role Models

Main characters are depicted as underdogs whose success goes against everyone's expectations. Some show determination, but most play into stereotypes associated with Black and Latinx teens from under-resourced communities -- i.e., unmotivated, unintelligent jokesters. That makes it seem like their success is because of some paradoxical talent instead of their strength of character. Failure to see these kids' humanity contributes to their stereotyping, on-screen and off.

Violence & Scariness

Frequent gun use. One character is abruptly shot and killed. Another character is punched and strangled to death. Parents emotionally abuse children.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Frequent use of the words "f--k," "s--t," and "ass."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Adults get drunk. Underage characters smoke cigarettes. Drug dealing.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Critical Thinking is a fact-based drama about a high school chess team from an underserved community that defies the odds to make it to the U.S. National Chess Championship. Directed by and starring John Leguizamo , the movie has frequent swearing ("f--k," "s--t," etc.), underage cigarette smoking, drug dealing, punching, strangling, and gun violence that results in death. Parents emotionally abuse children. While positive themes of teamwork and overcoming challenges are prevalent, the movie's Black and Latinx teens are stereotypically depicted as unintelligent with little work ethic and their success as an anomaly. Rachel Bay Jones and Michael Kenneth Williams co-star. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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What's the Story?

In CRITICAL THINKING, teacher Mr. T ( John Leguizamo ) oversees an unofficial detention hall at Miami Jackson Senior High School, where students are sent if they're deemed troublesome. Mr. T seizes the opportunity to start a chess team, all while navigating limited resources, a school with little faith in his students' abilities, and the stressors of his students' turbulent personal lives. When the team starts to succeed, the students come up with creative fundraisers to pay for travel and lodging at their competitions. But none of this is easy. One teen faces pressures at home from an emotionally abusive father who resents his son's talents. Another is pulled into dealing drugs to make ends meet. All the while, Mr. T is the loving, encouraging adult they crave.

Is It Any Good?

This drama is the classic story of an underdog team overcoming the odds and making it all the way; unfortunately, it falls back on stereotypical characterizations to tell its tale. The Miami Jackson team seems to be in this position because its members -- Black and Latinx teens from under-resourced communities -- have historically underestimated identities. The film plays on the biases that are often held about these identities by depicting the teens as shiftless and unfocused. They're careless in their fundraising efforts, they try to pass notes during tournaments, and they use the threat of physical violence to intimidate their opponents.

Their chess skills are an afterthought, making their success feel like an anomaly. And it certainly doesn't help that a White teen joins the team as they gain momentum and becomes their shining star -- teaching the other kids new chess moves and giving them vocabulary lessons. He's the only teen character whose background, personal life, and stressors aren't explored. So while Critical Thinking is diverse in its casting and exposes some of the broken systems in public education, it misses the mark in humanizing its characters. The failure to see these kids' humanity contributes to their stereotyping, on-screen and off.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how Critical Thinking handles stereotypes and biases. Can media offer positive representations while still promoting stereotypical characterizations?

What does Critical Thinking teach viewers about student engagement and the importance of teaching things in a fun way?

What role does teamwork play in Critical Thinking ? Why is it an important character strength ?

Movie Details

• In theaters : September 4, 2020
• On DVD or streaming : September 4, 2020
• Cast : John Leguizamo , Rachel Bay Jones , Michael Kenneth Williams
• Director : John Leguizamo
• Inclusion Information : Latino directors, Latino actors, Female actors
• Studio : Vertical Entertainment
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : High School
• Character Strengths : Teamwork
• Run time : 117 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : February 19, 2023

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Is Critical Thinking Based on a True Story?

Directed by John Leguizamo, ‘Critical Thinking’ is a 2020 sports film that follows a group of kids from Miami Jackson High School trying to win the National Chess Championship. Led by Mario Martinez, the team comprises Sedrick Roundtree, Marcel Martinez, Gilbert Luna, Rodelay Medina, and Olemy Paniagua. The five boys come from the inner parts of Miami, where the families strive daily for necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing. Coach Mario Martinez sees their interest in chess as an opportunity for growth and sets out on a quest to create history.

Set in 1998, the film portrays what it’s like to come from underprivileged backgrounds and how classism deprives poor people of great opportunities. In addition, the narrative tackles subjects such as racism and juvenile crimes and depicts how the latter results from several other factors in a system that doesn’t uplift the downtrodden. The various characters and backdrops feel authentic and allow the audience to empathize with the people they see onscreen. The compelling performances and organic character journeys have got many wondering if the movie is rooted in reality. Well, allow us to shed some light on the matter.

Is Critical Thinking a True Story?

Yes, ‘Critical Thinking’ is a true story. Written by Dito Montiel and directed by John Leguizamo, the movie captures the events leading up to the 1998 National Chess Championship. It showcases how Mario Martinez and his team of boys from Miami Jackson High School won the title. The group is also the first-ever team from Miami to win the national title in chess . Executive producer, Carla Berkowitz, came up with this idea when she read an article in 1997 about the boys of Miami Jackson. She wanted to tell the story of all these boys doing such incredible things in the chess world with Mario Martinez’s help.

Interestingly the movie is quite close to how the events unfolded in real life. All 5 players in the movie are based on real-life chess players. Even the character of Coach Mario Martinez in the film has a real-life counterpart, who is a chess teacher . The real-life figures also played a significant role in the filming process. In an interview with CineMovie, Carla Berkowitz said , “All the boys that were portrayed and Mario obviously were the consultants in the chess movie.”

Another fascinating aspect is that Berkowitz wanted to make the movie for about two decades. Although filming began in 2018, Carla Berkowitz has been in touch with all players and Mario Martinez since 1997. While describing the movie’s accuracy, the real Mario Martinez and Carla Berkowitz mentioned a few things. First, all games we see the players play in the movie were played by their real-life counterparts. Second, Marcel’s book of chess moves also existed in real life. Third, the scene where Marcel plays with Mario, Sedrick, Roddy, and Gil, with his eyes closed, happened in reality too.

Numerous events in the movie mirror circumstances that transpired in reality, which elevates the narrative’s authenticity. ‘Critical Thinking’ is far more than a chess championship for Mario Martinez and the boys. The group comes from a place where they have nothing but want to create a better life for themselves. However, the boys do not get a fair shot at anything due to racial discrimination and financial circumstances. Coach Martinez sees chess as an opportunity and a metaphor for their life.

At the film’s beginning, Martinez says that chess is an equalizer that puts everyone on a level playing field. In fact, the teacher solves almost every problem with a chess move because he considers the game symbolic of life. The ideology comes from the real-life coach. In an interview with Orlando Sentinel, he said , “Chess is a way of looking at choices and realizing, ‘If I do this, then this will happen. If I do that, then that will happen,'” Martinez deduced, “Choices have consequences. That’s critical thinking. That’s analytical. And that’s life.”

The coach always applies this philosophy in the movie, which leads the boys to bag the national title. Marcel wins the title for the individuals’ category, and Miami Jackson High School wins in the teams’ category. In real-life, Coach Martinez didn’t stop with the 1998 championship title. The teacher went on to win several more via kids who developed an interest in the sport. In the next four years, he offered his guidance to various teams comprising different players representing Miami Jackson and won 4 more national championship titles.

In 2000, Rodelay Medina became the national champion in the expert division. Marcel played three opponents simultaneously while being blindfolded. Therefore, to reiterate, ‘Critical Thinking’ is a true story of a group of boys and their coach from Miami Jackson. It essays how Martinez and his team become the first from Miami to win the National Chess Championship. The narrative also portrays how the boys overcome several struggles and move toward a hopeful future.

Read More: Is Mario Martinez Based on a Real-Life Coach? Where is He Now?

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Critical Thinking (2020 movie) John Leguizamo

Critical thinking movie 2020 trailer, cast john leguizamo, rachel bay jones | drama..

Critical Thinking tells the true story of Cuban-American teacher Mario Martinez ( John Leguizamo ) and his national championship winning chess team at Miami Jackson High School. In 1998, Martinez forms a chess team with five LatinX and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami. With his guidance and unconventional methods, Martinez inspires the teens to achieve their potential.

This American biographical drama film is directed by John Leguizamo, from a screenplay by Dito Montiel. It stars Leguizamo, Rachel Bay Jones, Michael K. Williams, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Angel Bismark Curiel, Will Hochman, Corwin Tuggles, Jeffry Batista, Zora Casebere and Ramses Jimenez.

• Starring : John Leguizamo/ Rachel Bay Jones
• Genre : Drama
• Country : United States
• Language : English
• Director : John Leguizamo
• Production : Cinema Veritas / Hialeah Park Studios / NRSP / Perfect Balance
• Distributor : Front Row Filmed Entertainment

Critical Thinking movie

Critical Thinking release date

• September 4, 2020 : USA (internet)
• September 4, 2020 : USA (limited)

Critical Thinking cast

• John Leguizamo as Mario Martinez
• Rachel Bay Jones as Principal Kestel
• Michael Kenneth Williams as Mr. Roundtree
• Corwin C. Tuggles as Sedrick Roundtree
• Jorge Lendeborg Jr. as Ito Paniagua (as Jorge Lendeborg)
• Angel Bismark Curiel as Rodelay Medina
• Will Hochman as Gil Luna
• Jeffry Batista as Marcel Martinez
• Zora Casebere as Chanayah
• Ramses Jimenez as Andre Lamar
• Todd Allen Durkin as Detective Ransone
• Brandon Somers as Harutyun Akopyan
• Isaac Beverly as Pickle
• Ruben E. A. Brown as Donny
• Sydney Arroyo as Cornelia

In November 2018, it was announced John Leguizamo will be directing Critical Thinking from a screenplay by Dito Montiel and that Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Michael K. Williams, Angel Bismark Curiel, Will Hochman, Jeffry Battista, Corwin Tuggles and Rachel Bay Jones had joined the cast of the film.

Critical Thinking was scheduled to have its world premiere at South by Southwest in March 2020. However, the festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Vertical Entertainment acquired distribution rights to the film and scheduled it for release on September 4, 2020.

Leguizamo’s feature directorial debut holds an 89% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 9 reviews.

Also, check these topics out: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Season 7 Episode 12 , Hoops Netflix , Marvel movies in order by release date , I’m Thinking of Ending Things movie , Who won The Masked Singer 2019 , The Game movie , 2020 Oscars , Murder in the Woods trailer , Kids Choice Awards 2020 vote . Critical Thinking (2020 movie) John Leguizamo. Critical Thinking movie 2020 trailer, cast John Leguizamo, Rachel Bay Jones | Drama.

Critical Thinking Wikipedia

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Critical Thinking

Based on a true story from 1998, five Latino and Black teenagers from the toughest underserved ghetto in Miami fight their way into the National Chess Championship under the guidance of their unconventional but inspirational teacher.

Critical Thinking (2020) - Full Cast & Crew

Actors and roles, crew of Critical Thinking (2020). Who was filming and what role he played.

Critical Thinking (2020)

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Michael gervais shares the first rule of mastery: stop worrying what other people think of you.

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I recently spoke with Michael Gervais about his book The First Rule of Mastery: Stop Worrying What Other People Think of You. Gervais founded Finding Mastery, a consulting firm that offers mindset training to individuals and teams to help unlock higher performance. As Gervais and I discussed, it’s easy for individuals to wrap their identity in how well they’re performing externally (whatever their arena)—which can create a self-esteem crisis when performance drops off. In The First Rule of Mastery, Gervais shares tips for disentangling your sense of self-worth from your outward performance and dropping the worry about what others think of you.

How to gain perspective.

According to Gervais, it’s critical to gain perspective on your life and your outward performance. When your identity is wrapped up in individual outcomes, your happiness will hinge on whether you succeed or fail at various inflection points throughout your day or week. For example, a football player dropping a pass may hear “boos” from the crowd, which causes his self-worth to plummet. To disentangle your identity from whether you’re “winning or losing” in the moment, Gervais recommends talking with mentors, coaches, other leaders, or teammates; ask for their perspective on your particular situation and your life as a whole. Gervais also stresses the importance of daily mindful meditation and/or journaling so you can clarify your thinking and determine what next steps to take.

Identify your purpose.

What is your personal “why”— the thing you’re striving for that’s bigger than you? Gervais believes everyone should have a “why.” This is something you can't do in one day, or even a year; this question gets at your life’s purpose. To examine your purpose, ask: Why am I here? What is my calling today, and years from now? How can I look at what I do from the vantage point of my highest potential? Identifying your purpose allows you to invest in yourself and your goals for the long term, which will relieve pressure you feel when focusing on immediate results. Keeping the long view in mind will lessen your anxiety. For example: while a football player’s immediate goal may be to catch the winning pass for the game, his larger purpose may be to teach mindfulness to younger players so they can achieve steadiness in high-stakes situations, both on the field and off.

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How to keep anxiety at bay.

In The First Rule of Mastery, Gervais shares that when you deeply care about something, you’re likely to overthink or worry about an intended outcome. Yet caring deeply and preparing can veer into anxiety, which is unproductive. To keep anxiety at bay, Gervais recommends intently focusing on the specific task at hand, not allowing other thoughts to drift. Breath training and mindful meditation can help you avoid an anxiety spiral and bring you back to the present moment, Gervais writes. Gervais also recommends doing a “brain dump” and moving all of your worries onto paper; know that you can solve your problems tomorrow.

Identify the stories you’re listening to.

As Gervais shares, humans understand the world through stories. We can, Gervais writes, get better at recognizing the stories that constrict us. For example, you may believe someone has a negative view of you—yet is that true? Or is it just a story you made up without all the facts?

As Gervais writes, stories can be both productive and unproductive; they can help us flourish, but they can also hold us back. Gervais says it’s especially important to detach from the stories we believe others have cast on us; at the end of the day, those stories (real or imagined) don’t matter. You might want to journal about the stories you tell yourself—look for the trends or where there might be a disconnect when you don’t have the facts. For example: a lacrosse player could tell herself the story that “I’m not going to start because I missed a goal in front of the coach.” Yet is this true? Will one missed goal cause her to be benched? Often, we’re imagining worst-case scenarios and simply making assumptions.

Whose opinion matters?

Who gets to weigh in on your life? Does that person (or persons) add value?

Gervais writes that we must filter through the noise of other people’s opinions and decide: whose opinions matter? When you identify whose insight you value, you can filter through the noise of outside feedback—whether it’s been offered, or whether you only imagine it. Gervais advises readers to picture a small circular table. Who are the six people who would sit around that table with you? These are the people who have the expertise and experience to help you. As Gervais writes, this group should be small, made up of only those who genuinely care about you. If you pay attention to this group, you can block out the noise offered by those who don’t count in your book.

To maintain a grounded sense of self-worth untethered to outward performance indicators, identify whose opinions matter and whose don’t. Tell yourself stories that serve you, and practice mindful activities—like journaling and meditation—that keep you centered. Detach from the ups and downs of the outside world and plug in to yourself to reach more of your potential.

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Opinion Michelle Cottle

Why the Next Seven Weeks Are So Critical in the Race for President

Credit... Damon Winter/The New York Times

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By Michelle Cottle

Ms. Cottle is a domestic correspondent for Opinion and a host of “Matter of Opinion.”

• Nov. 25, 2023

The holiday season is upon us. Which means that while Americans are recovering from an orgy of overeating and Black Friday shopping, the political world is easing into the next phase of the presidential election: primary crunchtime.

The period between Thanksgiving and the first presidential primaries and caucuses in January and February is typically full of flux and ferment. The contenders sharpen their messages. The campaigns flood Iowa, New Hampshire and other early-going states with additional money and people and ads. So many ads. More voters start paying attention. Watching candidates surge and fizzle, focus and fold, you often can get a sense of how they respond under pressure. And if there’s one thing a president needs to be able to handle, it’s pressure.

In a normal election, these early contests can bring all kinds of surprises. In 2000, John McCain’s maverick run upset George W. Bush in the New Hampshire primary, jolting the Republican nomination race. In 2004, during the weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses that January, a floundering John Kerry loosened up , warmed up and crisped up his message (“The real deal”!) in the Democratic race, crushing the dreams of the anti-establishment darling Howard Dean. (Remember the Dean scream? Good times.) In the 2008 election, Team Obama started working Iowa early and just kept turning the heat up as caucus night approached, driving a stake through Hillary Clinton’s aura of inevitability. And so on.

This time, obviously, the state of play is different. With Donald Trump, the Republican contest includes a de facto incumbent whose dominance looks all but insurmountable. Some players have already left the field. Others need to leave A.S.A.P. (Looking at you, Asa and Doug.)

But this race is not over. In fact, not a single vote has been cast. And for all Mr. Trump’s advantages, he’s lugging around some heavy baggage that gives the primary a tremor of instability.

He is up to his wattle in criminal indictments, and even if none land him in prison, the grinding stress and his advanced age look to be taking a toll on his mental acuity. Watching his increasingly disjointed rants, one cannot help but think, “Something ain’t right.” He seems as likely as President Biden to suffer a serious health event — maybe more if you factor in all those burgers. As the primaries grind on, any number of developments could convince soft Trump voters that the MAGA king is a bad bet.

All of which is to say that the Republican primary fight remains vital. And as we head into this crucial stretch, it is time for the most promising Trump challengers — who at this point appear to be Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley — to hunker down and show us what they are made of.

Both of these aspiring Trump slayers have the same core aim: to convince primary voters that the former president is no longer the right man for the job — that he is America’s past, while they are its future. Think of it as this year’s version of Obama’s “change” theme.

They are coming at this from dramatically different places. Iowa is make or break for Mr. DeSantis, who has gone all in on the state. This makes it especially unsettling for his team that Ms. Haley has caught up with him there in recent polling. Mr. DeSantis has long benefited from the belief by many in the G.O.P. establishment that he is the party’s most electable option: Trump but competent, as the sales pitch goes. If he places behind both Mr. Trump and Ms. Haley, then limps to a second defeat in New Hampshire — where recent polling shows him in fourth place, at best — that electability argument goes splat.

The next several weeks are basically Mr. DeSantis’s last shot at breaking through, and it’s increasingly hard to see how he does so. He has tried to walk that fine messaging line of presenting himself as the MAGA choice for a new generation. But selling Trump Lite to a base still drunk on the original has proved difficult. More problematic, early signs are that the recent consolidation of the non-MAGA part of the field, especially Senator Tim Scott’s departure, will benefit Ms. Haley more than Mr. DeSantis. Then there’s the cold reality that Meatball Ron is a lousy retail politician, a real handicap in early-voting states, where people take their face-to-face schmoozing with candidates very seriously.

That said, Team DeSantis is determined not to get outworked — which is also something Iowans take very seriously. “In Iowa,” Tom Vilsack, the state’s 40th governor, once observed , “it is not the message; it is the relationship.” In October the campaign announced it was shipping about a third of its Florida-based staff to Iowa until the caucuses. In mid-November, three top players were dispatched: the deputy campaign manager, the national political director and the communications chief, according to Politico. Additional offices are being opened across the state, and more aides are expected to be dispatched in December. He scored the endorsement of Iowa’s governor, Kim Reynolds. If Mr. DeSantis is smart, he’ll be shaking hands and smooching babies in the state every waking moment between now and caucus night on Jan. 15.

Ms. Haley has sought to strike more of a balance between Iowa and New Hampshire. This makes a certain sense, seeing as how the quirky Granite State, with a large number of independents who vote in the primaries, seems more fertile ground for her brand of politics than does Iowa, whose Republican base is heavy on religious conservatives . (White evangelicals do love them some Trump .) She has been toggling between events in both places, and last month her campaign announced that starting in December, it would be running an additional $10 million in ads across the two states. She recently rolled out a list of 72 endorsements from prominent political and business figures in Iowa. Her campaign has not been scrambling to flood the zone with staff members, à la Team DeSantis, perhaps because it isn’t feeling the heat quite as much.

Ms. Haley is going hard with the message that she is the face of a new generation, unburdened by Trumpian drama and, unlike Mr. DeSantis, able to unite rather than divide Americans to get things done. (Pragmatism has been a central theme in her strong debate showings.) Playing to the coalition of Trump-skeptical Republicans and independents, she is walking a clearer, cleaner path than Mr. DeSantis.

Whether she can get many Republicans to follow her is the billion-dollar question. She too needs to plant herself in Iowa and New Hampshire for the rest of this year and loudly tout her presence there to avoid looking as though she cares less than Mr. DeSantis. (Early state voters are so sensitive.) And she could use a few more breakout moments. She has been a star of the Republican debates , for instance, but she has spent more time carving up Vivek Ramaswamy — which, to be clear, has been glorious to behold — than raising doubts about Mr. Trump or even Mr. DeSantis. In January 2004, Mr. Kerry used a debate to devastating effect against Mr. Dean, confronting him with comments he had made about how he could not prejudge the guilt of Osama bin Laden for Sept. 11. “What in the world were you thinking?” Mr. Kerry asked. Mr. Dean had some lame reply about being “obligated to stand for the rule of law.” Ms. Haley has maybe two debates pre-Iowa to strike a memorable blow. While she has the disadvantage of Mr. Trump not being on the debate stage, she is nimble enough to make the most of lines like “If Donald Trump were here, I would ask him ….”

“Pressure. It changes everything,” observed Al Pacino in the deliciously cheesy horror flick “The Devil’s Advocate.” For Ms. Haley and Mr. DeSantis, the window for disrupting this race and making their mark is closing soon. ’Tis the season to go big or go home.

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Michelle Cottle is a domestic correspondent in Opinion and a host of “Matter of Opinion.” She has covered Washington and politics since the Clinton administration.  @ mcottle

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