Brian Helgeland's late 1940s-set biopic of black baseball star Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) is respectful and a little hagiographical.
Handsomely shot in a Masterpiece Theatre way, it shows Robinson overcoming virulent racism in post-war America to become a star player at the Brooklyn Dodgers.
There's an engaging performance from Harrison Ford as Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey, a crusty , cigar-smoking patriarch determined to ensure that Robinson is accepted in the Major League.
This is a rousing story, well told, but lacks the edge that Spike Lee (he tried to make a Robinson film) might have brought to it.
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