Jackie Robinson Biography '42' Lacks Grit

"42" is playing at Gateway Cinemas 12 in the BigD Experience at 1:00, 4:00, 6:50 and 9:40 on Friday, April 12, and Saturday, April 13. 

The premise, courtesy of the film's official website:

Hero is a word we hear often in sports, but heroism is not always about achievements on the field of play. "42" tells the story of two men — the great Jackie Robinson and legendary Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey — whose brave stand against prejudice forever changed the world by changing the game of baseball.

In 1946, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) put himself at the forefront of history when he signed Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) to the team, breaking Major League Baseball's infamous color line. But the deal also put both Robinson and Rickey in the firing line of the public, the press and even other players. Facing unabashed racism from every side, Robinson was forced to demonstrate tremendous courage and restraint by not reacting in kind, knowing that any incident could destroy his and Rickey's hopes. Instead, Number 42 let his talent on the field do the talking — ultimately winning over fans and his teammates, silencing his critics, and paving the way for others to follow.

Here's what critics are saying:

These days, there are many less flattering things you could say about a movie than that it's enjoyable in a square, uncomplicated, stirringly old-fashioned way. 42, a sports drama about how Jackie Robinson broke the color line in professional baseball, is in some ways a film that could have been made 30 years ago, or 50 years ago. — Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly 

Pretty when it should be gritty and grandiosely noble instead of just telling it like it was, 42 needlessly trumps up but still can't entirely spoil one of the great American 20th century true-life stories, the breaking of major league baseball's color line by Jackie Robinson. — Todd McCarthy, The Hollywood Reporter 

This film needed to be grittier than it is. All the characters are wearing brand new clothes (courtesy of costume designer Caroline Harris), as if they just went on a Macy’s shopping spree. Cindy Carr’s sets are too perfect and obvious, you can detect when a Hollywood back lot is substituting for a real New York location. The cinematography (Don Burgess) is super glossy, like a car commercial. Trumpets blare incessantly like Caesar is entering the room. — Dwight Brown, Sacramento Observer 

Writer-director Brian Helgeland ('L.A. Confidential') deserves credit for saluting Rickey as the man who put Robinson on the diamond, but this big-budget period piece is more concerned with burnishing a legend than dramatizing a life. Characters repeatedly invoke Robinson's historical impact as if his history had already been made. — Rafer Guzman, Newsday

Helgeland’s film is at its best when it focuses on the diamond. As Robinson, Boseman has both physical grace and sly charm. Threatening to steal bases, we watch him toy with opposing pitchers in a nearly silent-film pantomime that’s both playful (because he’s so damned likable) and tense (because practically everyone else is such a fire-breathing racist). — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture 

"42" runs 128 minutes and is rated PG-13 for thematic elements including language. 

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