Tuesday, January 5, 2016

42 (2013)

Director: Brian Helgeland

Writer: Brian Helgeland

Composer: Mark Isham

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford, Nicole Beharie, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Merriman, Lucas Black, Andre Holland, Alan Tudyk, Hamish Linklater, T.R. Knight, John C. McGinley, Toby Huss, Max Gail

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In a game divided by color, he made us see greatness.

Plot:  The story of Jackie Robinson from his signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1945 to his historic 1947 rookie season when he broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball.



My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Nah.

Good flick.  Being a sports movie and a bio pic it's already got two strikes against it since both types of films are nearly always loaded with cliches that are hard to shake.  Surprisingly, director/writer Helgeland treads them lightly and crafted a fine film that doesn't use those cliches as a crutch.  I'm not into sports so I knew nothing about Jackie Robinson except that he was the first black Major League Baseball player.  The performances are good and earnest and the pacing is nice and leisurely.  Some may find it slow and I can see how someone would find this a typical throwaway sports biography but it's got a lot of emotion in the right places and a little bit of humor that doesn't draw attention to itself.  It's a nice little picture that's pleasantly gives you a glimpse into what all went into this historic figure and moment in time.

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