As a short text at the end of this movie explains, this is not a documentary but rather a movie based on historical events that takes certain liberties with them.
That probably should have appeared at the beginning, rather than being buried in the long credits at that end.
Be that as it may, this is really a very good movie with some first-rate performances.
The outstanding performance, to me, was Delroy Lindo as Satchel Paige. Lindo makes him a very 3-dimensional character. I found the scene between Paige and Rickey, where Paige so desperately wants Rickey to ask him to play for the Dodgers but will not beg for it, deeply moving. Lindo knows how to act with his face as well as his voice, as only the best actors do.
Mykelti Williamson was good as Josh Gibson, a tragic figure.
I don'.t think it's Blair Underwood's fault that he was not convincing as Jackie Robinson. To begin with, he was a strange choice, since he does not at all have Robinson's very impressive/intimidating physique. Part of the problem was that Robinson was given some weak lines, and made to come off as totally detached from the world of the rest of the players, to the point that he gets into a lockerroom fight over that with one of the other players for the Monarchs. I've read enough books on Robinson to know that, while he was well educated and a fine speaker, he did not try to distance himself from the less educated. I don't understand why that was included in the script.
I also thought that this movie's version of the first meeting between Rickie and Robinson paled next to its equivalent in both *The Jackie Robinson Story* and *42*.
Especially in the earlier part of the movie, there were moments when it seemed as if the script writers had simply copied passages from books into the dialogue. That seemed rather stilted.
All that said, however, I think this is a fine movie, and one that will interest not just those with an interest in baseball history, but more generally those who enjoy a good film with at least some well-developed and portrayed characters.
That probably should have appeared at the beginning, rather than being buried in the long credits at that end.
Be that as it may, this is really a very good movie with some first-rate performances.
The outstanding performance, to me, was Delroy Lindo as Satchel Paige. Lindo makes him a very 3-dimensional character. I found the scene between Paige and Rickey, where Paige so desperately wants Rickey to ask him to play for the Dodgers but will not beg for it, deeply moving. Lindo knows how to act with his face as well as his voice, as only the best actors do.
Mykelti Williamson was good as Josh Gibson, a tragic figure.
I don'.t think it's Blair Underwood's fault that he was not convincing as Jackie Robinson. To begin with, he was a strange choice, since he does not at all have Robinson's very impressive/intimidating physique. Part of the problem was that Robinson was given some weak lines, and made to come off as totally detached from the world of the rest of the players, to the point that he gets into a lockerroom fight over that with one of the other players for the Monarchs. I've read enough books on Robinson to know that, while he was well educated and a fine speaker, he did not try to distance himself from the less educated. I don't understand why that was included in the script.
I also thought that this movie's version of the first meeting between Rickie and Robinson paled next to its equivalent in both *The Jackie Robinson Story* and *42*.
Especially in the earlier part of the movie, there were moments when it seemed as if the script writers had simply copied passages from books into the dialogue. That seemed rather stilted.
All that said, however, I think this is a fine movie, and one that will interest not just those with an interest in baseball history, but more generally those who enjoy a good film with at least some well-developed and portrayed characters.