BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
How can you not live the story of Jackie Robinson? There is nothing about the narrative and story of 42 that anyone can say anything bad about. It’s a story about a guy who overcomes adversity to pave the way for baseball, black people, and really American race relations in general. In general, it’s a great story. The problem is that the movie turns this amazing story into a really dull movie. I hate to say it, but it felt like a movie you’d see on ABC Family, Lifetime, or an old “made for TV movie”. It just felt REALLY light. The racism was rough and bad, but I’d like to think that Jackie Robinson was more than just a black man who played baseball when it was an all-white sport. I didn’t feel the movie touched on any of that. I went into this movie knowing pretty much the broad strokes of the man’s career. I didn’t get much more substance than that. It was just a dull movie. It tugged at the heart strings and all of that, but it was exactly what you’d expect. It’s a well-made movie, but it just lacked the heart it should have had. A movie like this should be as much inspiring as it is educational. Chadwick Boseman was good as Jackie. When he had to turn it on, he did, but it wasn’t there wasn’t too much for him to work with. Harrison Ford’s performance as Brach Rickey, the old team owner, was a really interesting one. He got lost in this character and seemed to have a lot of fun with it. The problem is that it was so over the top that I’m not sure if it were a great performance or a horrible one. I want to lean towards “horrible” because he kept cranking out tired old cliché after tired old cliché. Every time he shows up on screen you can pretty much expect him to over act and to drop a few painfully lame “life lesson” type of quips. We also got see Christopher Meloni in a cool performance, John C. McGinley, Lucas Black, Alan Tudyk, and plenty of other familiar faces. It’s got a lot going for it on paper, but it just doesn’t pan out. If you like baseball and specifically Jackie Robinson then go for it. If you’re looking for a good baseball movie there are better to watch. If you’re looking for a race-related sports movie then I’d recommend “Remember The Titans” over it hands down. Go to a baseball game, read a Jackie book, or do something else. This movie should probably be towards the bottom of your “last resort watching” list. I just hope when they make “43”, they let Jackie finally kick some racist ass. C-
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