(My take on the negative woke reviews is at the end of this review.)
Brilliant film. As a huge Candyman fan, I went in hesitant bc the trailer made it seem like they completely changed the entire story & created an entirely new Candyman. This was NOT the case. It is essentially a part 2 of the original 90s film. There were so many hype points for me, especially the ending scene with the original quotes & ... well, I won't spoil it. But the ending was the best part if you loved the original. I give it a 9 only because there is a character in this that their reasoning behind breaking the pact made no sense to me. And also bc we didn't get any "groin to gut" action. Yes, I'm a weirdo & the gore wasn't up to par for me. Lol.
About the other reviews: I'm a white girl born in 89 who grew up watching the originals. The negative reviews bc it was "woke" are banking on that Cabrini was gentrified since the 90s (like most places) & Candyman represents all of the ppl wrongly killed who live in the projects.
Who *typically* lives in the projects? People of Color.
If you're doing a part 2 to a film that took place in the projects in the 90s, the chances of that place still being the projects in our modern world is slim. It was modernized bc it makes sense. "Woke" is modernization. If you hate that, then you need to take a long look at yourself internally as a person bc your negative review of a film actually says was more negatively about you as a human being.
Good job Peele! You got people talking AGAIN!
