42 (2013)

[baumer]

dISCUSS

Edited April 12, 2013 by Telemachos

[BiffMan]

Loved it and looking foward to seeing it again soon.  Another love letter to baseball type movie with some good drama and tension. Well-paced, good bit of humor spread throughout, and a very nice handling of a delicate subject.  Excellent portrayal of Jackie by Chadwick and I'm really glad they got a relative unknown to play him as he really becomes Jackie for you rather than someone just pretending to be Jackie.  Best performance by Harrison since...  I dunno...  Air Force One maybe?  It's certainly the most I've seen him disappear into a non-Indiana Jones role in a long time.

 

If you're familiar with the classic Jackie Robinson Story, this isn't a remake, it's more focused on the Branch & Jackie part of the story.  Much more focus on how the amazing bravery Jackie showed by just taking the field amongst racist cat-calls and bigotted teammates.  Includes a very powerful scene with Chadwick & Harrison illustrating just what toll that must have taken on Jackie. 

 

Solid A

[The Movie Man]

Loved it and looking foward to seeing it again soon.  Another love letter to baseball type movie with some good drama and tension. Well-paced, good bit of humor spread throughout, and a very nice handling of a delicate subject.  Excellent portrayal of Jackie by Chadwick and I'm really glad they got a relative unknown to play him as he really becomes Jackie for you rather than someone just pretending to be Jackie.  Best performance by Harrison since...  I dunno...  Air Force One maybe?  It's certainly the most I've seen him disappear into a non-Indiana Jones role in a long time. If you're familiar with the classic Jackie Robinson Story, this isn't a remake, it's more focused on the Branch & Jackie part of the story.  Much more focus on how the amazing bravery Jackie showed by just taking the field amongst racist cat-calls and bigotted teammates.  Includes a very powerful scene with Chadwick & Harrison illustrating just what toll that must have taken on Jackie. Solid A

 

Great. Noticed that Screenplay written by Brian Helgeland, who has written a number of great movies.

Edited April 12, 2013 by SUPERMAN

[JackO]

I give it a solid B. 

 

What separates this film from most others was the relationship between Jackie and his wife. it really kept the film grounded. I really enjoyed Harrison Ford's character as well. Sure he wanted to bring i Jackie for the money but he gave his character much more depth then that. I also enjoyed Alan Tudyk as the Phillies manager. It was so against the type and it was really the only confrontational and inescapable racism in the film that is was important to have the character be the real villain of the film and he succeeded.

 

I only gave this film a B thought because I felt some scenes were really clunky.  like Ford's speech the Phillies owner abut god being a baseball fan and how taking a forfeit would not be a sufficient reply! Also the first scene when Ford first gets the idea to get a African american ball player.  It was laughably cheesy. Jackie himself, I could take or leave in the movie. He actually doesn't really stand out.but I found the film solidly enjoyable nonetheless. 

[baumer]

One of the best of the year. I absolutely loved every bit of it. And i reeeeaaaallly hope Ford is recognized come Oscar time. I loved his character and performance. 9/10

[BiffMan]

One of the best of the year. I absolutely loved every bit of it. And i reeeeaaaallly hope Ford is recognized come Oscar time. I loved his character and performance.9/10

Very glad to hear you liked it!  Agreed on Ford and it gives me hope for the future that he might eke out some Connery-like late golden years and give us a few more good performances yet.

[Ezen Baklattan]

It's a bit corny at times, and its old fashioned-ness may turn off a few people, but I really enjoyed it. Great performances and solid period flair cover the film, and it's a really loving portrayal of one of the greatest heroes in sports.

[75Live]

One of the best of the year. I absolutely loved every bit of it. And i reeeeaaaallly hope Ford is recognized come Oscar time. I loved his character and performance. 9/10

Completely agree. The girl I was with said the same thing about Ford. I did too.She knows nothing about sports and really liked it.It was very good. All the actors was good to great. Definitely one of the best this year so far.A-

[Cmasterclay]

I loved this movie. The performances were across the board great. Ford was the best he's been since, uh, Air Force One, probably. Boseman was equally incredible was Jackie- he could be the next big African-American star. He's just awesome. The supporting actors are all great too. I really loved the direction and production values as well. Nice period piece work. Music and dialogue were nice, as well. Yes, the film was at times corny and emotionally manipulative, but it WORKED for this movie. It wasn't like War Horse, where it took you out of the film. This complimented it just fine. I had a great time. Best film of the year so far.

 

9/10

[Gopher]

They had me until the last 10 minutes. I understood the whole thing was as sappy as a maple tree and they were approaching the Jackie Robinson story like a family-friendly 90s Miramax biopic would. But maybe it was the overbearing score or the tiresome credits sequence, I didn't feel they stuck the landing. It sort of put in perspective how an overall story arc could have been fairly beneficial, as we get a film with a more than a few pacing issues and some surprisingly shoddy editing. Some of those transitions made no sense at all. 

 

But I shouldn't undermine the fact that this is a well-acted, well-directed, and mostly well-written film. When it works- Robinson destroying the bat immediately comes to mind- it really works. Chadwick was great, Alan Tudyk was almost lovable as a racist nitwit, and Harrison Ford looked like he actually cared. I'd recommend it. 

[RobinHood26]

Just got back from this and I have to say im a little underwhelmed  Nothing seemed to click 100% to me. I think it could have been much better. It dragged a bit because there was no clear end, I didnt know where the story was building too. The film also felt a little repetitive. 

 

C+

 

I think 61* is a better  baseball movie personally. 

Edited April 25, 2013 by Jay Salahi

[Michael Gary Scott]

Add me to the camp who thinks Ford deserves a nomination. A good solid biopic. 4/5

[RobinHood26]

I feel like the movie is tricking people because how can you not like a feel good movie about Jackie Robinson?

 

But as a film it disappoints. It never really moves. Drags a bit and no clear climax or goal for the audience. 

[Kvikk Lunsj]

I liked 42 it was enjoyable and a feel good movie. Ford does his best job in years. Chadwick was great and most of the acting was great. I felt some parts did not work that well in the film. 7/10

[Plain Old Tele]

Corny as hell but totally satisfying and entertaining. A bit on the nose at times, and the beginning is a tad shaky, but it's a solid, classically-filmed earnest movie. Very effective and affecting. A-

[CoolioD1]

It felt kinda lifeless when it could've been a much more interesting flick. I'm usually a sucker for the big finales in these inspirational sports films but this one left me cold, so it must have done something badly.

[tommycruise]

The best movie of the year so far for me. Harrison Ford finally returns to acting again, and the guy who played Jackie Robinson(forgot his name) also did a really great job. The story was pretty standard but I did enjoy how they incorporated a lot of humor into the movie. One of the reasons why I think the story worked so well(even though it was pretty standard) was the fact that it had such a good one to tell. Seeing Jackie Robinson work extremely hard to overcome the rascism and finally show everybody that race doesn't matter, its all about how hard you work was amazing.

A

[Jack Nevada]

I found it really enjoyable. It felt like a Spielberg movie, in a good way. Good acting, good direction and a good attention to period detail, and not quite as much cheese as I expected. 

[4815162342]

Endearingly old-fashioned, though a handful of scenes really overdo it on the sap (the little kid praying for Jackie to get a hit springs to mind).

[Lordmandeep]

Its an older style bio-pic but really do we need to see the main character looking into the distance for 10 mintues to make it more realistic and gritty to certain people's standards?

 

 

I think the film really was quite shocking with the racism really.