Review of Race (2016) by Brenda S — 07 May 2016

"The story of an African-American athlete who ran circles around the Nazis is not exactly a great sports movie but "Race" crosses the finish line thanks to Stephan James' central performance".

Movie Review: Race.

Date Viewed: February 20 2016.

Directed By Stephen Hopkins (The Reaping,.

Blown Away, Predator 2, The Ghost and the Darkness and Lost in Space).

Written By Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse.

Starring: Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Irons, William Hurt, Carice van Houten, Jeremy Ferdman, Amanda Crew,.

Shanice Banton, Barnaby Metschurat, David Kross, Glynn Turman and Jonathan Aris.

"Race" maybe another cornball and conventional sports movie but the acting keeps it from falling down on the track. It is based on the true story of Jesse Owens, an African-American athlete who broke barriers and overwhelming obstacles to win four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Adolf Hitler never allowed Jews or Blacks into the games until a boycott threatened to shut down the games so he changed his mind. That storyline would've been more interesting but we are stuck with the inspirational story of a track and field star which is fine.

The story of an African-American athlete who.

Ran circles around the Nazis is not exactly a great sports movie but "Race" crosses the finish line thanks to Stephan James' central performance. As I mentioned, "Race" tells the story of Jesse Owens (James), an African-American student who overcame great odds and racial prejudice to become a track and field athlete. He may have a shot at the Olympics in Berlin, Germany but there is talk of a boycott of the games because Jews and Blacks are banned from competing.

Olympic organizers Avery Brundage (Jeremy Irons) and Jeremiah Mahoney (William Hurt) fight about the ban of diversity in the games and America will pull out of the Olympics if Germany doesn't change it's tune. Meanwhile, after seeing Jesse Owens run fast, Coach Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis) decides to train him for the Olympics. Snyder was down on his luck until he met Owens, he has never seen a runner quite like him and for good reason. After breaking numerous records on the track, Owens is thinking about not going to the Olympics because of possible discrimination. Eventually he changes his mind and goes to Berlin hoping to make a statement to Germany's fascist rule.

It is predictable, by-the-numbers and completely safe but "Race" is a solid sports picture. It is really surprising to hear that it was directed by Stephen Hopkins, the man who gave us "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5", "Blown Away", "Predator 2", "The Ghost and the Darkness", "The Reaping" and "Lost in Space". In addition to James, Jason Sudeikis is also really good in his first dramatic role as Owens' coach and mentor. Oscar winners Jeremy Irons and William Hurt are terrific actors but they don't have much to do as the Olympic organizers.

It really resembles other sports biopics like "42" and "McFarland, USA" but I'm still recommending "Race" just for the compelling performances.