This movie actually is more about Branch Rickey.

Rating: 7/10 (17 April 2013)

As this movie is a remake of a remake of a remake of a remake, and is recounting a story that is so well known as to become a part of American culture and folklore, the director was confronted with the formidable challenge of reworking the story into something new. The results are mixed. The movie can be divided into two parts - a sports movie about an athlete who bucks the odds to become a hero, and a soap opera about a man's personal life off the field. The former works; the latter fizzles out. That Jackie Robinson grew up in California, served in the United States army, was already known as an athlete, and was a star in the Negro leagues is glossed over in favor of playing up Robinson's relationship with his wife, which is done in a way that can be described in one word - hokey. And it is this hokeyness that takes this movie down several notches. When Jackie has to endure being publicly humiliated by Ben Chapman, that is dramatic. When Jackie is making googly-eyes at his wife, that is cheap dramatics of the most transparent variety. Harrison Ford's performance as Branch Rickey at times approaches that of a caricature of the bombastic businessman - gruff on the outside but really warm and cuddly on the inside, which does not help improve the movie. In addition, it seems that the movie is more about Branch Rickey than about Jackie Robinson, evident by the fact that the star cast member is playing Rickey, not Robinson, who is played by a relative unknown. If any movie required a major star in the the title role, this is was the movie. The story is about the guy on the field, not the guy in the front office. The movie would have been stronger if it would have had the Robinson-Chapman relationship as the main point of the story to drive home the theme of racism, which is what drives this story. It's not about people, it's about social problem - racial injustice - as manifested in sports, and through sports, in society . Basically this movie is based on a true story but as the movie itself disclaims parts of the story have been re-worked for dramatic purposes. The movie may have worked better if the story had not been re-worked and told "as-is" because the facts themselves unembellished tell the whole story. To find out about Jackie Robinson, it might be better to watch a documentary instead.