As a fond gesture to a country coming out of the dark ages, 42 is a good-hearted attempt at Robinson's story regardless of the historical realities it chose to gloss over.
It's not easy to play a stoic, but Boseman anchors the movie, and when he smiles, 42, already such a warm story of such cold times, gets even brighter.
It comes with a smooth burnished period look, and it tells a smooth and burnished story. Helgeland has good intentions but not much new to say about a real-life hero who wears his nobility and torment mostly as symbols.
Boseman gives a potentially star-making performance, while Ford, at 70, segues smoothly from firm-jawed action hero to elder-statesman character actor.
The story isn't much more than a hit parade of "Shut up, racist" moments -- Alan Tudyk's opposing manager just oozes with venomous talk -- but its blunt force is enough to get the job done.
So 66 years after Robinson became the first black major league baseball player, here we are with 42, which has been made with such reverence for Robinson's importance that Robinson is barely there.
A hero without imperfections can be problematic. But Jackie's nobility is more than well-earned, and tarnishing it for the sake of balance would be churlish. Besides, there's enough evil at loose among the white characters.
