Following the success of Moneyball in 2011, its time for another baseball biopic to step up to the plate — one that goes back much further in the history of the sport. Directed by Oscar-winning L.A. Confidential screenwriter Brian Helgeland, we got a teaser trailer for the Jackie Robinson biopic 42 early last fall and now Warner Bros. has delivered a full-length version.
Waiting to use Jay-Z until the final moments, this one actually sells a convincing drama, more of the standard variety when compared to the aforementioned Moneyball. Still, relative newcomer Chadwick Boseman seems to fit the role perfectly and the period setting looks to be ideally captured for what’s shaping up to be a spring surprise. Check it out below for the film starring Harrison Ford, Chadwick Boseman, Christopher Meloni, Ryan Merriman, Brad Beyer, Judy Tylor, Jon Bernthal, Nicole Beharie and T.R. Knight.
Synopsis:
Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures are teaming up with director Brian Helgeland for “42,” the powerful story of Jackie Robinson, the legendary baseball player who broke Major League Baseball’s color barrier when he joined the roster of the Brooklyn Dodgers. “42” will star Academy Award(R) nominee Harrison Ford (“Witness”) as the innovative Dodger’s general manager Branch Rickey, the MLB executive who first signed Robinson to the minors and then helped to bring him up to the show, and Chadwick Boseman (“The Express”) as Robinson, the heroic African American who was the first man to break the color line in the big leagues.
42 opens on April 12th, 2013.