A syrupy-sweet biopic about the life of Jackie Robinson, "42" is nonetheless affecting and a proper tribute to an icon that transcends baseball and civil rights.
Robinson, of course, was the first African-American in Major League Baseball. Writer/director Brian Helgeland focuses on team owner Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) and his obsession with integrating baseball during Robinson's rookie season (and the season preceding it, when Robinson played in the minors).
Chadwick Boseman plays Jackie Robinson, and if you're saying "Who?" you're not likely alone. Boseman's filmography mostly includes television appearances. But he does just fine here, playing Robinson as the strong, silent type, at times seeming on the edge of explosion as he deals with racism from opponents and teammates alike.
Ford's turn is especially interesting. Given how easily he's recognized, it would be easy for Ford's involvement to be distracting. But he largely disappears into the role behind eyebrows, makeup and a cigar, and only sparingly flashes that famous Harrison Ford smile.
Other notable additions include Alan Tudyk ("Knocked Up") as a racist manager, John C. McGinley (TV's "Scrubs") as famed announcer Red Barber, and Lucas Black ("Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift") as shortstop Pee Wee Reese.
The baseball scenes are engaging and rarely about the tension between winning or losing a game. He uses tight, intimate shots of Robinson and his adversaries, bringing us closer to the game action than many movies of its ilk.
Helgeland also slathers on the schmaltz, with cliches as obvious as Robinson tossing a ball to a child in awe of him to stoic endurance as thousands of people heap insults upon him.
But it all somehow works, the Hallmark Channel vibe working to perfection, giving a mostly family-friendly vibe (there are, of course, some off-color words, especially racial slurs). For seasoned sports-movie fans, there's nothing particularly new or innovative about "42," but it packs an emotional wallop just the same.