A Good Way to Spend The Day

Rating: 6/10 (25 April 2013)

Baseball is almost as old as America itself, and like America it has its dark past or racial tension. 42 is about Jackie Robinson and how he broke the color barrier. This movie is less about baseball and more about the life of Jackie himself. A lot of people wanted more baseball and a lot of people thought it was fine the way it is. Me personally I thought the movie was right to focus on Jackie himself because the movie wasn't about baseball. Harrison Ford brings his A-game in playing Branch Rickey, but I can't help thinking that 42 could have been so much better.
When I first heard about this movie and saw the trailer I immediately thought Oscar winner. After seeing it, I see this movie being forgotten because it had so much potential to be a fantastic movie. The acting was good but it could have been better. The writing was good, but it could have been better. The racial tension and discrimination was good but it could have been worse, and by worse I mean it could have pushed the envelope and been more offensive. I'm fine with Harrison Ford and the semi-unknown actor who played Robinson because the man Jackie Robinson is too big of a character to be played by a star. If a big name guy played Jackie Robinson he would be criticized more than any other role because of Jackie's legacy. He did a really good job in his acting but in some scenes he was dull, but in a few scenes his emotion drove the scene and the story forward. His emotional acting made me in the moment and it felt like I was there next to him. The best scene in the entire movie is the scene in Philly. When the Dodgers play the Phillies the manager was getting under Jackie's skin with his racial slurs and you can see how it affected his game. As the frustration builds you could see the tension building as well. You can see the rage in Jackie's face as he wants to bash the manager's face in. Instead, he goes in the dugout, out of sight, and lets it out. He flips out and all the emotion comes out. Then comes in Branch Rickey to calm him down and the conversation they have is the best acting in the entire movie. Branch Rickey is the most important character in the entire movie and this scene proves his importance. We all know Harrison Ford as Han Solo and Indiana Jones, but now he can be referred to as Branch Rickey. He did an amazing job indeed, but come Oscar season he will be forgotten by the movies that will come around next fall. He could have done a little bit better, he was a few steps short of an Oscar performance and the fact that the movie came out in April hurts the entire film. In real life, Rickey wanted to win by any means and he thought the Negro Leagues had the most talent to he pushed to break the color barrier. In a selfish way he was a pioneer in baseball. In his greed for victory and money he became a hero. We even see it in the movie, he didn't care about black people and their right to play baseball, and he only cared about winning and making money. It's brilliant in a way and it worked. I liked seeing how white players slowly came on the side of Jackie and they slowly became friends. It was cliché, but that's really how it happened. Pee Wee Reece was the short stop of that time and he was a major star. I liked how it showed the term protest at first and Rickey shut them down, the one guy got traded, the other guy stands up for Jackie, the awkward moment when the one guy tried to get Jackie to shower with the team, it was all good to see in the movie. The movie focused on the team as much as it was Jackie. The main point of the movie was Jackie but sometimes it also turned and focused on Rickey, or the tram, or white people in general. As a team they overcame the racial tension and that was a good thing to see. Overall, 42 was a good movie. I saw it in theatres and I was generally entertained. I was never bred, the pacing was well done, and I was entertained. I'm glad I saw it, but I'm not sure if I want to see it again. Ford was amazing, Jackie was well played, but I can't escape the feeling that it was missing something. 42 held something back that would have made it a great film. I think that was the racial attitude. T showed white and colored separation but it could have been a lot stronger and we could have sympathized for Jackie more. I expected to hate white people more and I expected more from the movie as a whole. I love Jackie Robinson and his story. I love baseball and the fact that this movie was finally made. I'm glad I saw it and you should go see it too. 42 gets the WillyT Recommendation.