Spike Lee’s ‘Chi-Raq’ a fair retelling of ‘Lysistrata’

An audacious critique of gang warfare in Chicago, Spike Lee’s creative yet disjointed “Chi-Raq” wanders all over the place, but it’s still refreshing to see the iconic director explore this subject matter in such a brave, unexpected way.

The movie gets off to a rollicking start, first with a powerful rap song called “Pray 4 My City” (the lyrics are posted on the screen), then a nightclub outing that ends with a bang, and then a sexually charged encounter with a fiery climax.

For the updated Chicago version, Lysistrata (Teyonah Parris, solid) is the girlfriend of South Side gang leader “Chi-Raq” (Nick Cannon), and she puts an abrupt end to booty calls after a young girl is killed in the crossfire of yet another gun battle between warring neighborhood factions.

The best moments in the film belong to Angela Bassett, as neighborhood do-gooder Helen, who is the emotional center of the movie; John Cusack, as activist priest Father Corridan, who orates a fiery sermon about the city’s social ills; and Samuel L. Jackson, as the narrator who appears now and then in loud suits and delivers the film’s ultimate message.

[...] “Chi-Raq” is a positive movie that wants to jolt us into doing something about the very real emergency in Chicago.