Any discussion of “Emancipation” will inevitably be clouded by the Will Smith of it all, and Apple’s decision to release the movie into the teeth of awards season. The focus will thus skew toward Smith and lingering fallout from “the slap” during last year’s Oscars, and away from an earnest, handsome film that’s generally solid but unspectacular enough to render that conversation largely moot.

(SOURCE) https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/09/entertainment/emancipation-review/index.html