By Zach Schanzenbach

Staff Writer

“I don’t know about you, but I’m feeling 22.”  So goes this popular Taylor Swift song about living it up.  Well I don’t know about her, but I’m feeling more like “42.”  Yeah, I’m an old soul, but that’s not what I’m talking about.

42 is a 2013 baseball movie that tells a true story. Didn’t see that one coming, did you?  The story is that of Jackie Robinson, the first black player to play Major League Baseball (MLB) and break the racial lines of his day. Like any true story that deals with race as a basic plot element, the story is inspiring and uplifting. Chadwick Boseman does a wonderful job reincarnating Robinson’s story, as do all the other characters. What surprised me most about this film was who was chosen to play MLB executive Branch Rickey; Harrison Ford.  Most people don’t think of true stories when they hear that name, but here he is, and, just like always, he scores big in acting.

Naturally racism gets the boo of disapproval from this movie, which is most prominent in Philadelphia Phillies manager Ben Chapman’s (Alan Tudyk) incessant rambling against him during a game about halfway through the movie.  Needless to say, Chapman gets his just desserts. There’s also a strong endorsement of “turning the other cheek,” mostly from Rickey to Robinson.  42 makes it clear that while refusing to strike back at someone who struck you first can be painfully difficult, it is the better choice. 42 is a movie that speaks for itself; capturing the essence of a movie like that in a measly 500 words just won’t cut it. 42 gets 5 paws.