Review of 42 (2013) by Heegs — 25 Apr 2013

Thanks to some absolutely poor writing by Brian Helgeland, 42 takes the amazing story of an amazing man and turns it into a feel-good made-for-tv movie. I wanted so badly to like this movie, but with Harrison Ford's seemingly forced acting as Branch Rickey as well as disconnected scene after disconnected scene we're left with a movie that feels rushed and doesn't entirely flesh out the incredible journey of Jackie Robinson to become one of the biggest icons in baseball as well as Civil Rights history.

In fact, the only redeeming quality about this movie is the stellar, and perhaps even award-worthy, performance by Chadwick Boseman who, along with having an awesome name, gives us a compelling portrayal of Jackie and connects with the audience from the minute he first graces the screen.

While I can't say I hated the movie, I can't recommend it either. The ending (spoiler free) was terrible and brought a sense that the director simply didn't have time to come up with something better which... considering this is based on a true story... is ridiculous.

Furthermore, Helgeland apparently seems to forget the rules of the game which this movie is centered on when Jackie's home run against Pittsburgh is declared "A walk-off winner" for the Dodgers by their radio commentator even though they're the visiting team and would therefore be unable to win a game in walk-off fashion. It's little details like this that further take away from what could have been a truly great movie.