It is not entirely fresh, but it is as crowd pleasing as crowd-pleasers get.

Rating: 8/10 (11 May 2013)

For many years now, biopics involving racism have been coming to theatres near us, and honestly, I am a little worn out. That is the main reason why Brian Hegeland's (Payback, A Knight's Tale)new film 42 doesn't reach greatness or even really good-ness. It is not far off, I must say. It is on the verge of being a really good movie, but because movies have been like this before.
It just doesn't feel that fresh. But that isn't necessarily 42's fault. 42 has a good story to tell, and it sort of has to be told. 42 is a good movie, with some strong performances and some great moments, but it feels sort of familiar. it isn't exactly the movie's fault: The problem is other movies.
Newcomer Chadwick Boseman, who for a newcomer is pretty good, plays Jackie Robinson, who was racially discriminated and taunted for playing on a baseball team with white guys. Harrison Ford plays Rickey, one of Robinson's allies. Ford gives a sort of Clint Eastwood-type performance, going old grumpy guy, and it works. His best work since Morning Glory.
I didn't have much interest in seeing it, but I guess they all proved me wrong. I knew it would be good, I just didn't want to watch it. It is a delightful film with some excellent performances. It also does a nice job of holding your interest the entire way through. In the meantime, it also is a raw portrayal of racism (perfect example: look out for Alan Tudyk's appearance). It isn't exactly a home run, but it is good enough.
B+