At first glance, a Hollywood film about the world of debate might seem gutsy, but director Denzel Washington’s awards bait about the all-black Wiley College team, which bested several white schools in the thirties, has almost nothing to do with reasoned argument and everything to do with earnest preaching: In the stacked-deck world of Robert Eisele’s script, this team has an uncanny ability to grab the hindsight-friendly side of every issue.