The only problem with them is that they are generally formulaic and predictable. And even if you don’t predict them, you can nod your head and say ‘Of course there was going to be an overtly racist jerk trying to get a rise out of the main character.’
However, just because that happens in a movie, doesn’t mean it’s a bad move on the filmmaker’s part. I am a firm believer that a movie’s greatness depends upon the execution of certain tropes, not the avoidance of cliché.
Look at “Star Wars.” It is a story everyone has heard thousands of times. What made it a masterpiece was Lucas’s ability to shake-up the status quo. And I am proud to say that “42” manages to shake up the genre enough to avoid being forgettable.
“42” is about the early career of baseball legend Jackie Robinson. For the uninitiated, Jackie Robinson was the first black man to play for Major League baseball. In his lifetime, Robinson accomplished more than just that, but the movie focuses on his first major achievement.
The film covers his early professional career from his time in Montreal to joining the Brooklyn Dodgers and the first season he played with them. It is a gripping tale and everything is put together in just the right way to keep interest throughout.
Harrison Ford plays the man who sought out Robinson in the first place and believed in his ability to turn the other cheek when provoked. He dwarfs everyone else’s performances, but that’s only because all the other actors all relatively unknown and untrained compared to Ford.
Christopher Meloni, John C. McGinley and Alan Tudyk all have roles, but they all are untested TV actors who never really had major roles in anything noteworthy fill out the rest of the cast. They did have an actual baseball player play one of Robinson’s historic teammates. That was a nice touch.
“42” also has a great sense of humor. A few of the tenser moments in the film come across as forced, but the genuine, razor-sharp humor made-up for that short-fall. All in all, “42” was a pretty good movie, even if you can see some of the formula, it manages to crack the mold and rest comfortably, not as a great film, but one that is good enough to spend money on.
