Idris Elba Fights for Freedom in New 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' Trailer

Such is the nature of the Oscar beast that a few months ago it looked like we could legitimately talk about five African-American Best Actor contenders, and now...well, maybe we'll get two. Maybe. Forest Whitaker and Chiwetel Ejiofor probably have the best shot, with the latter all but a certainty, while early contenders Michael B. Jordan, Chadwick Boseman, and most notably Idris Elba have fallen off the map. Elba may still have a shot for playing South African leader Nelson Mandela in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, but have you noticed a lack of buzz for the film lately?

A new trailer has been released to try and rectify that even though there have been numerous spots released already. So what's different about this one? Not much, as it still gives the appearance of a very straight-forward, unexciting take on Mandela's life. It's not all Elba's fault as director Justin Chadwick shoulders much of the blame for a film that never gets at Nelson Mandela the man. "There's never a scene that encapsulates who Mandela was and why he was the driving engine in apartheid's ultimate collapse" quoting from my review from the Middleburg Film Festival, and you know what? I continue to agree with myself on that.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom opens November 29th, and maybe Elba will turn enough heads to slip back into the Oscar race.