Review of Get On Up (2014) by Russ B — 20 Jun 2016

Get On Up is a biopic starring Chadwick Boseman as James Brown, an entertainer known as the "Godfather of Soul." The movie tells the story of James' rise to fame, his relationships, and his ego complicating things within his music groups.

As most of you already know, I'm a sucker for a good movie revolving around music or musical figures, and Get On Up does not disappoint in its tunes. Boseman is phenomenal as James Brown; everything about his performance, on stage and off, resonates with the signature energy Brown was known for.

The ensemble cast, including Viola Davis, Lennie James, Octavia Spencer, and Nelsan Ellis, adequately fills the shoes of the people in Brown's life. The one thing about this particular biopic that didn't work well for me was the directing.

I understand that it's difficult to create a biopic with an overall story without making it seem like a bunch of random events piled together, but Tate Taylor makes an interesting choice early on in the movie; he delivers scenes not in sequential order for about the first half of the movie before abandoning the approach for a linear finish.

This isn't necessarily a terrible thing, but it just seemed like the movie could have benefited from being entirely linear instead of part linear/part random. Overall, however, the movie is highly enjoyable (if not a bit long) with an iconic performance from Boseman.

If you like James Brown or biopics, give it a watch.