42 the Movie Review

This week was a “Pope Pick” (by far the best weeks to go to the movies) and we went to see 42 – The story of a pioneering American – Jackie Robinson, directed by Brian Helgeland.

Off to the movies…

This is it- this is one of the films that make me really love going to the movies. It has all my favorites…it’s a period piece; it’s a true story, and then the whipped cream on top…it’s about sports! I’ve seen them all, and I have to tell you that I leave most sports oriented movies feeling like I just left a Disney on Ice performance…you know that feeling…you actually paid money to experience something that cheesy.

For credibility purposes, I must point out that I LOVE Disney World.

But this is not one of those movies; this is a well told story by some incredible actors.

The Story: 42 the Movie

42 the Movie tells the story of Jack Roosevelt “Jackie” Robinson (played by Chadwick Boseman), the first man to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. On April 15, 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers started Jackie Robinson at first base (only year he played first base btw). You can imagine what this guy had to go through to be the first African-American in the big leagues.

That first season, he led the league….in between being hit by pitches, and they did not wear helmets back then. The first time a guy threw a baseball past my head at that speed I’m pretty sure I would have switched over to playing Dungeons and Dragons with my pets in the basement of my parents’ house.

This is one of those stories that just makes you feel good, and at the same time, I had to restrain myself from standing up and yelling at some guy on the screen because he is acting like an a** and saying things that make my blood boil.

The Characters: 42 the Movie

Boseman did an outstanding job of bringing this real hero to life and made me believe him, care about him, root for him and want to fight for him. In addition, the cinematography made me feel like I was actually there watching the game.

Harrison Ford played Branch Rickey, the Dodgers General Manager and President. For me, this was the stand out character in this movie. It takes a moment to notice Ford because he changed his look, voice and demeanor so well to play this character. Rickey ended up doing something spectacular and bold by signing Robinson to play, but he didn’t exactly do it because he felt a since of moral obligation; he did it for the Benjamins:”Dollars aren’t black or white. They’re GREEN.”

Rickey had to search for that perfect player to be the first though; obviously someone with thick skin, tough as nails, smart and most importantly a great ball player. I got to thinking about it after the movie; could you imagine how much different things would have been if Robinson had failed and not been good? Thank goodness that’s not what happened; if it had there wouldn’t have been a movie for me to pick, and Josh would have picked something about some scary people in a cabin in the woods or something…Thank you Jackie Robinson.

Final Thoughts

Look, this movie isn’t perfect and there are a couple scenes that are very much like the Disney on Ice experience but overall it’s a great one and I would absolutely recommend that you go and see it.

Popes Movie Review: $8 (out of $1 – $9)

Please feel free to leave me any comments/suggestions as I am still feeling my way thru trying to write these things. Hopefully they will get a little better each week so in 10 years you should be able to get all the way thru one. Have a great week!