Chi-Raq, a 2015 effort from writer/director Spike Lee, establishes its go-for-broke tendencies right off the bat by opening with what's basically an overture. A Nick Cannon song entitled Pray 4 My City plays in its entirety while lyrics for the song flash up on the screen against a black background. Once it's finished, we get a unique rendering of the map of America while audio of a pastor's preaching playing in the background. Only then does the story of
Chi-Raq get underway. Kicking off with two separate prologues is a bold move and it's one that establishes right away that
Chi-Raq is not going to be a movie aiming to be ordinary. Instead,
Chi-Raq wants to be bold, unique, and, most importantly, say something about the modern world.
