42: Big league story could be a bigger hit

There’s very little gray area in 42, a biopic about Brooklyn Dodger Jackie Robinson, the first African American on a major league team. As played by Chadwick Boseman, Robinson is a guy who elicits our sympathy after Dodgers owner Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) decides to recruit him for his minor league team, taking him out of the Negro Leagues and stirring up a good deal of controversy. A speedster on the bases who’s also a superb hitter, Jackie quickly proves himself to be a capable player and it’s not long before he signs a contract and joins the Dodgers.

Of course, there are plenty of fans (and players) that think Jackie doesn’t belong. The heckling (and racial slurs) rain down on him as he travels from stadium to stadium. All the while, Jackie keeps his cool, even as opposing managers taunt him and even his own players express their dislike for the way their season has turned into a circus. But winning cures everything and Jackie plays well enough to help the team contend for the playoffs.

A real crowd pleaser, the film comes off as a made-for-TV movie, not that there’s anything wrong with that. Boseman is decent as the talented ball player and does a good job of showing the way that the racism made Jackie occasionally doubt himself. Ford appropriately plays Branch as a curmudgeon with a cause and even though he regularly speaks in platitudes, he still turns the character into someone likeable. The rest of the cast includes some terrific talent, but actors such as Christopher Meloni, Lucas Black and Alan Tudyk are underutilized. The drama ultimately depicts the inspiring story without enough complexity; there are good guys and bad guys and we all know things are never that simple.