Opening

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42 Play Trailer Get Showtimes

42 (2013)

tomatometer

77

Average Rating: 6.9/10
Reviews Counted: 138
Fresh: 106 | Rotten: 32

42 is an earnest, inspirational, and respectfully told biography of an influential American sports icon, though it might be a little too safe and old-fashioned for some.

72

Average Rating: 7/10
Critic Reviews: 39
Fresh: 28 | Rotten: 11

42 is an earnest, inspirational, and respectfully told biography of an influential American sports icon, though it might be a little too safe and old-fashioned for some.

audience

88

liked it
Average Rating: 4.2/5
User Ratings: 36,484

My Rating

Movie Info

Hero is a word we hear often in sports, but heroism is not always about achievements on the field of play. "42" tells the story of two men-the great Jackie Robinson and legendary Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey-whose brave stand against prejudice forever changed the world by changing the game of baseball. In 1946, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) put himself at the forefront of history when he signed Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) to the team, breaking Major League Baseball's infamous color

PG-13,

Drama

Brian Helgeland

$78.2M

Warner Bros. Pictures - Official Site External Icon

Cast

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All Critics (138) | Top Critics (39) | Fresh (106) | Rotten (32)

A square, uninventive, but detailed and stirring bio-pic devoted to the two years in an athlete's life that changed a nation.

April 22, 2013 Full Review Source: New Yorker
New Yorker
Top Critic IconTop Critic

"This is a competent but mostly unexceptional film about a most extraordinary man."

April 12, 2013 Full Review Source: Richard Roeper.com
Richard Roeper.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

This story inspires and entertains with a vital chapter in this nation's history.

April 12, 2013 Full Review Source: Denver Post
Denver Post
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The filmmaking is TV-movie-of-the-week dull and Robinson's ordeal is hammered home to the exclusion of virtually everything else in his life.

April 12, 2013 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor
Christian Science Monitor
Top Critic IconTop Critic

"A kind and decent film, though it doesn't add to Robinson's legacy."

April 12, 2013 Full Review Source: Film.com
Film.com
Top Critic IconTop Critic

[Boseman] captures, in a clenched jaw or a sidelong glance, a lifetime's worth of dearly attained dignity and barely contained rage.

April 12, 2013 Full Review Source: Newark Star-Ledger
Newark Star-Ledger
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Even if it may not necessarily read on Helgeland's more surface-skimming page, it subtly yet deeply reads in Boseman's eyes Robinson's wrenching day-to-day struggle to maintain almost superhuman composure amid literally, viciously in-his-face prejudice.

May 6, 2013 Full Review Source: TheMovieReport.com
TheMovieReport.com

If life-affirming inspirational stories are a turn-off, 42 is still worth watching.

May 1, 2013 Full Review Source: AspectRatio.us
AspectRatio.us

a script that touches the well known base paths of Robinson lore without penetrating the man's heart

April 29, 2013 Full Review Source: Old School Reviews

42 delivers a powerful story, adding one more crucial piece to the puzzle that is American history. But as for a fleshed-out biopic that provides more pieces to the puzzle that was Jackie Robinson, the man? For that, you'll have to wait.

April 26, 2013 Full Review Source: Paste Magazine
Paste Magazine

A terrific cast helps lift it above the crowd pleasingly routine fare typical of the genre, producing a solid triple of a baseball movie.

April 25, 2013 Full Review Source: Spectrum (St. George, Utah)
Spectrum (St. George, Utah)

It can't be argued that 42 reaches the depth and complexity of [L.A. Confidential], but what Helgeland does give us is a wonderful, huge, glossy, mythical portrait of America's growing pains.

April 22, 2013 Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid
Combustible Celluloid

With overtones of "The Natural" and "Hoosiers" this is the best movie of 2013 so far.

April 21, 2013 Full Review Source: jackiekcooper.com
jackiekcooper.com

Solid and heartfelt, '42' is less the story of Jackie Robinson than the story of how those around him reacted to the man who broke the color barrier for Major League baseball.

April 20, 2013 Full Review Source: Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)
Quad City Times (Davenport, IA)

Boseman hits just the right notes as Robinson. He's not a saint. He's a man, with many of the same flaws all men have. He wears his emotions on his sleeve and he's not afraid to show them.

April 19, 2013 Full Review Source: MediaMikes
MediaMikes

The story is compelling. The acting is good and the historical period, including the old ball parks, are recreated very convincingly. The baseball scenes are well done.

April 19, 2013 Full Review Source: Laramie Movie Scope
Laramie Movie Scope

It manages to be something that inspirational biopics, in my experience, virtually never are: inspiring.

April 17, 2013 Full Review Source: Antagony & Ecstasy
Antagony & Ecstasy

This film reminds us that how we feel about our sports figures mirrors how we feel about our nation.

April 17, 2013 Full Review Source: Atlantic City Weekly
Atlantic City Weekly

Competent but superficial historical tribute to baseball legend Jackie Robinson.

April 17, 2013 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Helgeland's handling of the material is simply too by the book, giving us the milestone in place of the man.

April 17, 2013 Full Review Source: Film Threat
Film Threat

The baseball scenes are realistic, the acting is at the level of Lincoln, and the message is not overstated.

April 16, 2013 Full Review Source: East Bay Express
East Bay Express

It's not easy to steal home when you've got a halo over your head but Boseman somehow manages.

April 15, 2013 Full Review Source: honeycuttshollywood.com
honeycuttshollywood.com

"42" is a glorious tale of staying strong and having perseverance in the face of hatred.

April 15, 2013 Full Review Source: Entertainment Spectrum
Entertainment Spectrum

There should be a Lifetime Sports channel. 42 would be a good movie for it

April 15, 2013 Full Review Source: tonymacklin.net
tonymacklin.net

Perhaps not a great movie, but definitely a good adaptation of a great American story.

April 15, 2013 Full Review Source: Patheos
Patheos

Audience Reviews for 42

One word.....impactful. I was sort of skeptical on how well an amateur actor could play someone as large as Jackie Robinson, but Chadwick Boseman killed the role. Knowing a good amount of baseball history, I appreciated how on-point the detail was in the film. From Ebbets field, to the Polo grounds, to the uniforms....everything was visually pleasing. I really don't have a negative thing to say about 42, and I believe it should definitely have a higher score than its current 77%.
May 8, 2013
Eric Alvarez

Super Reviewer

Worth seeing
April 29, 2013
Bill D 2007
William Dunmyer

Super Reviewer

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Discussion Forum

Topic Last Post Replies
two things i hate about the world we live in. 1 day ago 5
Oh great, another "whites are evil" movie 1 day ago 96
Hope they do this right 12 days ago 3
Guess the Tomatometer 12 days ago 84
Black people. 12 days ago 3

Latest News on 42

April 15, 2013:
Box Office Guru Wrapup: 42 Breaks Records and Barriers in First Place
Jackie Robinson made history again as the new film 42 delivered the best opening ever for a baseball...

April 11, 2013:
Critics Consensus: 42 Is Earnest and Inspirational
This week at the movies, we've got a pioneering ballplayer (42, starring Chadwick Boseman and...

April 11, 2013:
Parental Guidance: 42, Scary Movie 5
This week, 42 brings the heroic, inspirational story of Jackie Robinson's color barrier-breaking...

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