Review of 42 (2013) by Nickgreene11 — 19 Apr 2013

This was a truly awkward movie. Before I get to the negatives, the color design of 42 was incredibly interesting. There was a certain dusty quality to the air that made the deep brooklyn dodger blue, and bright green grass absolutely gorgeous. It felt like it captured both the style of a dirtier, scrappier era of baseball, while also conveying the wonderful larger-than-life quality of Robinson.

Now for the ugly truth. The script was the heart of the mess of 42. The film feels more like a set of connected events, than a story. It stays surface-level, merely focusing on the plot, as opposed to digging deeper and getting at the real man who faced real, terrible prejudice. While still staying surface-level, characters would openly converse about their deep troubles, which came across as fake. As did the entirety of Mr Mrs Robinson's relationship, for some reason. Couple scenes that seemed misplaced, with campy dialogue, and you had a movie that felt lost. I mean, at the end of it, do we really feel like we know the story of Jackie Robinson? Who he was, or why he's an American Legend? Kind of...but not really.

I think 42 is a surface-level retelling of Jackie Robinson's first 2 years in white baseball, that ultimately fails to structure itself in a way that feels fleshed out, and compelling. The lack of direction ultimately leads the film to feel pretty shallow, and easy to forget.