42

Along with hockey and basketball, baseball is a great sport that I can't get enough of. One of the reasons I like it is there are  many ways to play, many ways to win and it is a long, constant season. The film 42 is exactly those things. It is a film with many meanings made for a big audience and it is also a film that will probably be remembered forever.

Based on the powerful true story, the film retells the story of baseball player Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) and how he became the first African-American player in major league baseball during the 1940's and broke many barriers and had a lasting impact on our world.

The Jackie Robinson story is no doubt a great story but I had some concerns coming in to this. There are so many parts and aspects to this story that need to be addressed.  Obviously, there is the major cultural dimension to this film and how that is to be handled. Also, there is the question of who the actor will be who plays Jackie and can he handle portraying such a major historical figure. Also there is the baseball aspect which could be challenging showing games from many years ago in stadiums that don't exist today.

Well actually, I think the film handles all these issues very well. Aside from the scenes involving the owner of the Dodgers, Branch Rickey played by Harrison Ford who is  just over-the-top silly, the cast is very well created. The cast help tell a convincing story with some secondary characters getting significant parts with some of them close to emerging as the main stars of the film. Boseman's performance as Jackie Robinson is great and I think this newcomer will soon get many more lead roles. Maybe an underrated part of this movie is how it depicts baseball in the 1940's so beautifully and realistically. The whole film really feels like you have walked back into time to the 1940's which is very impressive. Further, the racial bigotry shown in the film is not fun to watch but it is obviously a necessary pert of the story and it is well handled.

In short, 42 is a film that has many things to offer and learn from and essentially shows us the proper way to live in this world. It shows that the color of your skin should not matter and that we should accept everyone equally and judge people on their own merits and not skin color.

42 shows the power of one man, Jackie Robinson and his great impact on baseball and our society and baseball. I think it is a film that will always stand out and be remembered. Thumbs up to director Brian Helgeland who can add this one to his already impressive resume.

4.5/5