42

Up until this film, probably the best film about Jackie Robinson was the one in which the star played himself. This wasn't a bad film, though it seemed very over-idealized. Finally, after all these years, Hollywood has finally put a nice budget into making a lovely tribute to this baseball great. However, and this isn't a complaint, it is NOT a film about the entire life of Robinson--just a tiny portion. Of course, it's clearly the most important part--his career in the minor leagues and his first year in major league baseball. It does not discuss how his career was unfortunately cut short by diabetes--as was his life. But the movie makers clearly couldn't do EVERYTHING--and they were wise to narrow the focus. But as for me, I'd like to see a sequel--and what happened to Robinson AFTER the 1947 season. In fact, when the film ends, you see that Dodgers win the National League pennant--but you don't learn that they lost the World Series to the Yankees (that WOULD have been anticlimactic).

So what did I think of the film? Well, I thought it was terrific--and I really appreciated how the film tried to get the history correct (with a few tiny exceptions). Ben Chapman (the manager of the Phillies) really was a racist jerk. Robinson did, for a time, live in Sanford, Florida (that's a bit ironic). And, the film tried very hard to get the look right. I also appreciated seeing Harrison Ford try to stretch his range--uglying himself up and changing his voice so much to try to adequately portray Branch Rickey. All in all, a very, very inspiring and touching film--one even non-baseball players could love.

I'm a big baseball fan, so I was excited to see this movie as soon as I heard about it. The release date of April 12th coinciding with the start of the baseball season, as well as Jackie Robinson Day on April 15th (when every MLB player sports #42 in his honor), felt appropriate and was clever marketing.

In case you live under a rock and/or you happened to go to one of the few elementary schools that didn't require its students to write a report on a famous black person for Black History Month, Jackie Robinson was the first African American Major League Baseball player, who played first and second base with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 through 1956. After doing a little research about Robinson, I discovered that one detail that was left out in those grade school reports was that he wasn't really the first black player in the majors, only of the of the modern era. What I mean by "the modern era" is after the Negro Leagues, which existed for about 60 years, starting in the 1880s. There were actually some black players in the major leagues before the Negro League started. However, this does not make Robinson's accomplishments any less impressive.

I have a whole new respect for Jackie Robinson after actually seeing and hearing the racism that he had to endure. In one scene, a Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher even hits him in the head. (Speaking of which, it made me wonder what the hell took so long for helmets to be made mandatory.) Some of the behavior and racial slurs coming from the crowd, coaches from other teams, and umpires was truly disgusting to watch for someone who was brought up in a generation where it's no longer socially acceptable to be blatantly racist. Sure, racism is unfortunately still alive and well in America, but it exists on a more underground level, compared to 60 years ago when it was considered the norm.

Newcomer Chadwick Boseman did a fantastic job. I'm glad the producers cast an unknown because it made it easier to believe that he really was Jackie Robinson. It would be cool to see him be recognized with an Oscar nomination, but even more importantly, I hope this will be the start of a long career. The supporting actors were great as well, particularly Lucas Black as Pee Wee Reese, the Dodgers shortstop who supported and stood up for Robinson the most during his rough first years on the team, and Alan Tudyk as Ben Chapman, the unapologetically racist Phillies manager who was one of Robinson's worst tormentors. Tudyk was so convincing in the role, it was hard not to hate him. Then of course, there's the legendary Harrison Ford as Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey, the man who helped break the color barrier by deciding to sign Robinson. I didn't realize just how old Harrison Ford is until I saw him in this. He was almost unrecognizable, and really disappeared in his role. At 71 years old, he still looks good for his age though.

It was great to see how his teammates went from signing a petition against him playing with them to gradually accepting and respecting him. The only problem I had with the film was that it ended very abruptly. I was shocked when the concluding notes of what happened to all the characters started rolling, as they typically do in films based on true stories. I felt like they stopped telling his story too early. Aside from that, I was very impressed with the film's authenticity and honest portrayal of the characters and time period.

"42" has already proved to be a hit. It opened at number one at the box office, and it broke some records for baseball-themed movies. At $9.1 million, it had the best opening day ever, and at $27.3 million, it had the best opening weekend. This will undoubtedly go down as one of the greatest baseball movies of all time. In my book, it's right up there with "The Sandlot" and "A League of Their Own." What's great about "42" is that it's far more than just a baseball movie. It's a movie about overcoming obstacles, staying strong during difficult times, believing in yourself, and standing up for what is right.

42 is a movie about that particular black man, who entered the league for the very first time, challenged everyone, including his teammates and won. Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) became the pioneer athlete to stand alongside the white sportsmen on the field when segregation & racial discrimination was a "rule" in United States. However, film does not actually follow the whole story of Jackie, it more tells a story of racial revolution in baseball, which escalated after one bold decision of Brooklyn Dodgers executive - Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford). Branch was the first manager to hire a black man, a talented black man who ran fast, who could catch any ball and who could bring hundreds of black spectators to the field. And since every of them, regardless their skin color paid money to see Robinson playing, this new transfer to the team could be successful.

Brian Helgeland wrote a pretty interesting and engaging script, with really good dialogues (well, he has a great experience of it from LA Confidential and Mystic River). Even though there is no much tension in the movie, it still makes you enjoy every minute of it. At first I was not comfortable with the idea of racial discrimination, because I've seen so many good movies on this topic, and it just makes me feel bored. Most of them look like each other much. I believe that any film that regards this topic, shall be very much emotional, which helps director to deliver a message successfully. The last film that affected on me, and for sure on every person, was The Help - a masterful presentation of historic segregation. But 42 does not arise rave emotions, it instead provokes great satisfaction. That is why 42 is an above average film.

Picking totally unfamiliar actor, Chadwick Boseman, for lead role, which actually presents the whole idea of the movie, is a risky choice by director. But Jackie was exactly as it should be. Chad delivers a passionate, evolving character who struggles with his emotions and almost every person surrounding him. His convincing performance is really worth to call potentially one of the best performances this year.

And Harrison Ford, it's been years I've not seen him acting well. In fact, the portrait of Branch Rickey is one of the best performances he'd ever had. Even though Mr. Ford gets older, he can make Brooklyn Dodgers story unbelievably interesting.

As for the rest of cast, everyone is good. Maybe not the best actors you can imagine, but they make a good team and there is nothing we can reject about their performances.

I did not expect a movie like this to be so good!

The acting was brilliant. Chad Boseman as Jackie Robinson did fantastic job playing his character. You can feel the turmoil building up inside him every time some racist moron starts to provoke him. Most of the time, I felt so much sympathy for him.

Harrison Ford should be nominated for an Academy Award. From beginning to end, he was spot on. He's one of the only people in the movie who actually treats Jackie like a human being from the beginning.

The other actors were good too.

With almost every sports movie, you can pretty much tell were the story was going. I will admit it was kind of predictable, but it was still enjoyable nonetheless.

The racism. Oh god. I understand that the film was set in the 40s and that's how it was back then, but the racism in this film angered me to no end. I could not stand some of these characters, especially one that stood out as the biggest piece of garbage in this entire film. I can't blame the filmmakers for that; in fact, if they did sugarcoat the language, I don't think the film would have been as strong. I guess the only good thing that comes out of it is how it helps build Jackie's character. You could feel the rage building up inside him.

I guess the only problem I have is how there was not as much baseball as there should have been in a movie about a baseball player. The gaming scenes were a lot of fun to watch but I felt that they were a bit too short.

Overall, the acting was great, the characters were great, and the story was great. If you're a sports fan, 42 is film worth checking out.

"42" tells the story of the American legend Jackie Robinson, the first African-American major league baseball player. This film takes place in the 1940s when racism and segregation were very prominent, so Jackie has to overcome many challenges and deal with the doubt and judgment people have towards him. With the support of journalist Wendell Smith (Andre Holland), Rachel Robinson (Nicole Beharie) and Dodger's owner Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), Jackie proves he has what it takes to make it.

I really love this film. Not only is "42" educational, but it also has a sense of humor, wit and a whole lot of inspiration. This film captures the hardships that not only Jackie and his family dealt with, but also the hatred that was shown towards the people that supported him. I really like the cinematography and the way the camera angles are able to capture the movement of the players and the unspoken communication between the team members. The costume and set design is also very well done and accurate for that time period.

My favorite character is Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) because he really shows emotion in a realistic way. Jackie is faced with challenge after challenge, but always overcomes, and Chadwick did a phenomenal job of displaying all that was going through his characters mind with nothing but a simple expression. Chadwick also captured Jackie's spunk and defiance towards the norms. Jackie Robinson is such an inspirational person and character. At any given moment he could have given up, let down the people that looked up to him, believe all the hate that was thrown at him, but he didn't, and that's what makes him a hero. I believe Jackie is a character that every man, woman and child can look up to and find inspiration in.

My favorite scene is when Jackie plays one of his first games as a Dodger. The manager of the opposing team is very slanderous and vile towards Jackie. He calls out awful racial slurs while Jackie is out on the field, but Jackie knows if he did anything about it he would be the one who gets punished. Finally after the other Dodgers had enough, Eddie Stanky marched over to the opposing team and told the manager to sit down. He knows he is breaking the rules, but when he sees a team member of his being harped on he takes a chance and stands up of for him. This scene shows that the color of one's skin doesn't matter and that Eddie would have done that for any one of his teammates. It's a wonderful example of equity and sportsmanship and it is very moving.

I give "42" 5 out of 5 stars because it is touching, funny, educational and inspirational. It's rated PG-13 which I agree with because it does run a bit long and younger children may find it hard to sit through, but it also contains a lot of racial slurs and slanderous language that may be hard for children to understand.

Reviewed by KIDS FIRST! Film Critic Raven Devanney, age 15. For video review, go to kidsfirst dot org.