42 (2013)

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

I don't want to say that this isn't a story worth telling, but it wasn't a story that needed to be told. Jackie Robinson had a huge impact on baseball for sure, and it took guts and everything to do what he did. However, the only valid reason to talk about the past is if it affects what we are going to do in the present, and I don't think this qualifies. You may feel differently, and if you enjoyed this movie or think that you will enjoy it, stop reading now so that you can remain motivated by whatever you find in this movie. And don't think that I can't ruin your view of this movie because I can. So do yourself a favor and keep loving this movie and all that it means to you.Now that we have that out of the way, I can start talking. I liked this movie when I first saw it in theaters. But three years later, it just annoys me. As I watched it for the third time, I realized that it's really just two hours of the same scene being repeated thirty times over. We do feel for him after seeing the emotional abuse that he goes through, but they could have done more with the time that they had. Very likely, the people behind this movie made it because they wanted to make a difference to the lives of their audience, which is perfectly admirable. However, they confused inspiring with feel-good, as many people tend to do. This is a *feel-good* movie much more than it is an inspirational one. It's only inspirational if it makes you want to do something about what you see, and there isn't that much potential for that.Also, Jackie Robinson helped end segregation, which is not the form that racism takes anymore in America. So it mostly serves as a pat on the back to Americans showing how far we've come in 70 odd years. Now, I know why no major studio has come out with a movie that deals with modern racism or Black Lives Matter or anything like that: they want to avoid public disapproval for whatever points or portrayals they make. It's understandable but sad. However, if you want a movie that is going to actually give insight about how to solve the problems of modern race issues, this isn't the one. I'm not saying that you shouldn't watch it, but you might just want to rethink what you're looking for in your black history month movie. I wouldn't say that it's a bad movie. It has good intentions, but its heart is also stuck in the past and less capable of changing the present. Overall Rating: 6.3/10.

The above is really all I can say about this film. Amazing from start to finish. I saw this in the theater not expecting what I got. I was so moved by Jackie's story and what he ( and so many others) faced during the time it's set in. Living in the South, I fully understand the prejudices that still exist, and it's hard knowing that people were, and still are treated in astounding ways, just because of the color of their skin. It's a little slow at times, but any movie that builds characters and history usually is at times, which is my only reason for 9/10. Chadwick Boseman is spectacular! I could feel the tension he felt and could almost hear him gritting his teeth to keep back what he wanted to say. Harrison Ford makes me want to cry; if only everyone would look at the heart of the person, and not their skin, and be just and fair in a society of people who aren't, the world would be so much different. I also was thrilled to see Lucas Black- I try to watch everything that he's in because I have several friends who went to school with him, I know he's a down to earth guy as well as a great actor, and you won't be disappointed by a single person in the cast. Well.... except for the people who taunt and ridicule Jackie. You will find yourself getting really angry over what's said. There really is a brashness that you don't see with many films, unless they're to do with race. If you can make it through without yelling at the screen and the idiots who try to defeat Jackie, I can bet you'll be moved to tears in a very good way. This is very much like The Blind Side, so if you liked that, you will like this for sure! I recommend it to anyone and everyone I meet!

Jackie Robinson is one of the most important African American athletes, if not the most important. This movie perfectly demonstrates all the injustices Jackie had to deal with. Whether it is being denied a hotel room, or having to deal with opposing managers or even teammates. However, this movie shows the good along with the bad. It shows that, while there were plenty of people who were out to prevent Jackie from laying, the people who were their to help him were doing the right thing. I also enjoyed it because it was not your typical sports movie. The Dodgers do not win the World Series, and we do not get to see Robinson play out the rest of his career. The movie does not sugarcoat to much, it portrays what really happens, and how Jackie was really treated. It may be a movie, but it does a very good job at showing a very important piece of sports history. This movie perfectly blends sports and culture, and that is what makes it such a good movie.

I remember seeing Jackie Robinson as a retired man and walking with a cane, being applauded before World Series games in 1972. Was wondering who was that man. My mother told me he did something important in baseball, better than a winning home run.Thank God what he did was open the doors to talented black and other ethnic players to play baseball, it changed the game forever.This movie depicts this feat done by this man as well as the audacious Branch Rickey, general manager of the Dodgers. Well photographed, story well written and good characters. I noticed there were a lot of barriers that the Dodgers itself had to suffer (bigotry, banned from hotels, possible strike by players, white people booing). But that did not move Jackie on the field.Sad that the producers did not shot a local scene regarding Montreal where he played for the "Royals". There was an anecdote that Robinson was ran over on the streets, not for bigotry, but for heroism on the field. And of course at the time, French-Canadians were subject to some bigotry by the English Canadian majority (until a certain Maurice Richard gave them courage to stand up, there was a movie about it...). Jackie Robinson is well honoured here with a statue near Olympic Stadium. However, the jersey said it all, and the former "Expos" did made a replica in 1992.For the rest, a movie to see. To remember that there a place for all, and all can succeed, despite the hatred and bigotry...