Review of Get On Up (2014) by Kyle C — 14 Aug 2014

Musical Craziness.

This is definitely one of those movies where you will either love or hate the style of it. Personally, this movie was a lot of fun for me. Here's why.

The movie stars Chadwick Boseman as the musical legend James Brown.

It's interesting how Boseman returned to star in another biography right after his role as Jackie Robinson in 42. Acting as a person as crazy as James Brown is no small feat, and I'm happy to say that he did an amazing job. He was immersed in his character regardless of how old he was supposed to be. I hope people recognize his acting chops soon in the form of award nominations.

James Brown as a character overall is kind of a jerk. It's odd how I enjoyed watching Brown since an unlikable central character is personally pet peeve of mine . Here's the difference though. James Brown is a bad boy, but in the most interesting way possible. He's insane and naughty, but it's entertaining to watch. This is what I feel other movies with unlikable central characters fail to accomplish.

Also, James Brown has got some moves! I really enjoyed some of these musical numbers since they were very toe-tapping and there is always something happening on the screen. It also helps the fact that I personally love this type of music.

The only part of this biography I feel conflicted about is the narrative style. I need to give props to the editor for making the narrative flow well, since otherwise the style is very jumpy. Let me explain. The movie begins with Mr. Brown as a old man. Then as a child. Now we're in the 60s. Now back to his abused childhood. The narrative in the beginning didn't have a lot of rhythm to it. Plus some of the parts with James as a child got a little too weird for my liking. Things got better once the narrative found its footing, but the beginning was absolutely crazy and all over the place.

And that's the best way to describe this movie. Crazy. It's a wild ride for a wild person. The acting was incredible and although the narrative style got a little too funky, it constantly kept my attention throughout. Get on up and find this biography if it interests you and it's still playing near you.

8/10 Amazing.

Favorite Scene- the dance number with the Christmas sweaters. Anyone who saw this movie probably knows exactly what I'm talking about :).