Critical Thinking was directed by John Leguizamo (in his directorial debut), written by Dito Montiel, executive produced by Carla Berkowitz and Harvey Chaplin, and stars Leguizamo alongside Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Angel Bismark Curiel, Will Hochman, Corwin Tuggles, Jeffry Batista, Ramses Jimenez, Rachel Bay Jones and Michael K. Williams.

[2] In 1998 inner-city Miami, Sedrick is an African-American student living with his widowed father, a knowledgeable chess player.

When the boys scheme to convert the candy bars into marijuana infused-cookies goes awry, Mr. T uses his personal savings to register the team in the regional chess tournament.

The team wins the tournament to advance to the state championship, and at the end of the road trip Sedrick happily tells his dad about his victory.

Ito loses his job because of his decision to go out of town to the tournament and his mother throws him out of her apartment, leading him to quit the chess team.

The boys face interrogation from police officers who believe that they have information about the murder of another student by a local drug dealer.

Marcel is crowned as the new champion alongside the boys and Mr. T. During the end credits, the real-life chess team and coach are shown.

In November 2015, it was announced that John Leguizamo, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Michael K. Williams, Angel Bismark Curiel, Will Hochman, Jeffrey Battista, Corwin Tuggles and Rachel Bay Jones had joined the cast of the film, with Leguizamo directing from a screenplay written by Dito Montiel.