Will Smith may be known for his roles in various films and TV series, but there is one relatively new film that seems to have slipped through the cracks. Shortly after the Oscar-winner made news at the Academy Awards in 2022, he once again grabbed the headlines with the release of Emancipation towards the end of the year. While the actor anticipated another Oscar win or nomination for the film, he ended up receiving very mixed reviews from the viewers and the critics.

After nearly a year since the film came out, it looks like Will Smith may have found the one person to validate his now almost forgotten Civil War film.

Civil War historian praises Smith’s Emancipation

Insider sat down with a Civil War Historian, Garry Adelman. They met to discuss details about Will Smith’s 2022 film, Emancipation. After analyzing the film, Adelman seemed to think that the actor had gotten a few things right. From his depiction of a slave called Peter to accuracies in the final battle, the historian dug into the film to see how it would hold up.

Adelman pointed out his favorite scene of the entire film, which was the battle at the end because of all its historical accuracy. He went on to talk about how the film properly depicted how “the best shooters were up front, and they had loaders behind them.” and even compared the scene to the Battle of Fredericksburg.

The historian also revealed a surprising fact that most people had not known before, “Will Smith’s character is an amalgamation of a Black soldier named Gordon who self-emancipates, and this other soldier named Whipped Peter. And it is a true story,” claimed Garry Adelman.

Will Smith may be overjoyed about the fact that Garry Adelman validated the film’s accuracy, but the actor has a long way to go as critics and fans were not as impressed as his friends.

Emancipation starring Will Smith was not a fan-favourite

After a rather weird year because of the Oscar incident, Will Smith, who recently had a special message for Dave Chappelle, decided to put the Chris Rock drama behind him and step up for his next project. In mere months, the actor put out a film about America’s history of slavery. And while his private viewing party may have loved the Emancipation screening, the critics were less than impressed. They felt as though the film was more of a dramatized version than it should have been.

While Emancipation may have garnered attention from celebrities like Dave Chappelle, Tyler Perry, Rihanna, ASAP Rocky, and other stars, the film ended up scoring a measly 45% on Rotten Tomatoes and became one of Will Smith’s worst-rated films of all time. But that has not stopped the actor from getting back up on that horse. In fact, at the moment, he has a lot of upcoming projects that have been put on hold because of the SAG-AFTRA strikes.

What do you think about Will Smith’s film Emancipation? Let us know in the comments below.