A compelling biopic on one of the great sports heroes

Rating: 9/10 (21 April 2013)

You know, before I saw 42, me and my dad caught one of the trailers for the movie a few months before it came out. His reaction was something like this: "Let me guess, it's gonna about racism and how bad it is or some bull, isn't it?" I walked into 42 with these words in mind. I walked out of 42 having learned that that's not what the film is about (I'll explain later on).
42 is a well-written, well-directed biopic on Jackie Robinson, one of America's greatest sports heroes (and the movie does a great job at proving why he is just that). Before I talk about Jackie himself, I MUST bring up Harrison Ford as the owner(?) of the Brooklyn Dodgers, Branch Rickey, who is the best character in the movie. Ford turns in his best performance in a long while and he makes the character passionate, determined, and wise, but he's kind-hearted as well. But what makes Rickey such a great character is why he signs on Jackie Robinson in the first place. As he says a few times in the movie, Rickey is doing this for the money, and he knows that if he signs on Jackie, the Dodgers will go to the World Series, which will get Rickey more money. On the surface, money seems to be his motive. But what if he had a different goal in mind? I believe his real goal is to put an end to racism, and the film hints at this a number of times. To me, this goes to show what a great man Rickey is, fighting the good fight against 40's prejudice.
As for Jackie Robinson himself, he too is a great man, caring about his wife and respecting his teammates through and through, and Chadwick Boseman does a decent job at portraying this. The story itself is also great, and it's enhanced further by a lot of little details, like how some white people cheer on Jackie, or seeing one of Jackie's teammates using his technique of leading-off the base. Little details like these just make the story all the better.
One of the problems that some critics had with 42 was that, as a movie that deals with racism, it didn't do a very good job of doing so. However, as I said I don't think 42 is actually about racism. I feel that it's more about prejudice against those who are different from you, and I can think of 2 scenes that point to this: The very first scene and the scene where one of Jackie's teammates put his arm around him, showing that they're good buddies, which riles up the white people in the stands.
Now then, with all of that said, I have to say that the movie does have a few flaws, though most of them are minor. Another one of the problems that some critics have with the movie was that it felt a little safe. Before I saw the movie, I didn't know what they meant by that, but now, I believe they mean that the film was safe when it came to the hate towards Jackie Robinson. And I have to say, I do kind of agree with them, since the worst we see are a Phillies player continually insulting Jackie and some hate mail and death threats. I also feel that the romance between Jackie and Rachel Robinson could've used more development. All of the right elements are there, I just think that more screen time would've allowed their relationship to become really good. Speaking of relationships, I think that the relationship between Jackie and the rest of his teammates could've been developed more. There are a few scenes that explore the dynamic between the team and Jackie, but I think at least 1 more scene would've made it complete.
All in all, this is a must-see for everyone, regardless of your skin color or your opinion on baseball. 42 gets a 9 out of 10 from me.