If you are looking for a honest to life or complete story of this man you won't find it here

Rating: 4/10 (27 October 2013)

Jackie Robinson is one of the most well known professional baseball players in the history of sport. Robinson's legacy is held in such high regard that his jersey number 42 is the only number retired by all 30 MLB clubs in honor of how much he changed the sport. He went through so much on field and off field pressure because he is the most notable African American player to try and succeed in a fully white league. The man who went through all of this racial resistance to perform in a league he almost instantly succeeded in deserves a film that would show how much he went through and how much resistance there was not only from the public but the white men he was playing against on the field. 42 does not achieve this goal because of one major flaw. The writers of the film take one thing for granted that is a fatal flaw, they made a movie assuming from the start the he was a legend and took for granted that he was just a guy who became a legend in our minds now.
42 stars Chadwick Boseman as Jackie which is an interesting decision because of how little fame he has had before this film. Casting an unknown actor gives the sense that the audience is able accept this man as Robinson rather than an actor who is already a big deal. Boseman delivers a performance as well as he can, but there are not many people on the planet who could have been cast in this film and not crumbled under the pressure of being a legend. Before the film starts it decides to make a film about a baseball player playing in the Negro Leagues who was almost destined to be the man who broke through the barrier and was able to become a Hall of Famer. This choice hurts the film by not showing the audience why it was Robinson that was chosen by the Brooklyn Dodgers Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) to hold this burden on his shoulders. The writers take for granted this choice and do not show any alternate disagreement or confusion on which Negro League player to make this transformation come true. Throughout the run-time the film jumps through weeks and months whenever it fits to move the story along and to keep the legend growing. This not only hurts the story as a whole, it at times ruins some of the great performances that do pop up in the film.
Harrison Ford as Rickey does give a surprisingly honest performance which has not happened recently in his career. Though the writers do not let him be a completely well rounded or smart character, rather making it seem like he picks Robinson because that is the obvious choice, Ford brings some emotional and passionate moments to the screen that do work very well. On the other hand the way Alan Tudyk's character throws out the racial slurs every minute is surprising for a PG-13 film. Though it is probably hard to watch for a 2013 audience who is much more experienced in a culturally diverse world, the film actually could have used some more grit and racial circumstances showing how rough this long baseball season was for Robinson, his wife (Nicole Beharie) and all the African American supporters during this time.
For anyone who has never heard of Jackie Robinson or this story, 42 might be worth while for some. In that sense a child probably will get more out of this film than any knowledgeable adult, especially one who is a baseball fan or is familiar with Robinson's story. For the most part the film has good intentions to show this story to a 2013 audience and promote his story. Otherwise if your are looking for a more honest to life or complete story of this man you won't find it here. There is still room for someone in the future to make a solid film out of this story, and for a man who helped transform Major League Baseball into a professional sport who is full of players from all around the world that is something his legacy deserves.