Get on Up Reviews

Since I have always been a fan of James Brown, I was quite eager to check this flick. As a matter of fact, one of the very first CD's I bought as a kid was a James Brown CD (to be honest, I don't have it anymore and, nowadays, I don't have anything from this artist which is quite a shame). Anyway, coming back to our main feature, it turned out to be a decent biopic, no more and no less than that. Indeed, after Jackie Robinson, Chadwick Boseman played here another African-American icon, he delivered another really strong performance and only for him, it is worth checking the damned thing. Concerning the rest of the movie, I obviously loved the soundtrack but everything else, especially the directing, was borderline underwhelming or, at best, pretty generic. For example, one thing that seriously bothered me was the scrambled chronology. Seriously, what was the added value? In my opinion, the director was so scared that the whole thing would like any other average biopic (which it still did), that he messed up the chronology to make it look more sophisticated than it actually was. Eventually, I wonder what would have been the end-result if they would have chosen a more straightforward approach and get ridden off a couple of useless scenes. Coming back to the man himself, I did learn a few interesting things about him but, to be honest, this movie never left me flabbergasted. Anyway, to conclude, in spite of its flaws, above thanks to a very strong Chadwick Boseman, it is still worth a look, especially if you are interested in James Brown.

Chadwick Boseman was amazing in 42. As a young and fairly new actor it can be hard to make a name for yourself. He doesn't seem to have any sort of trouble with that. The fact that he is also playing a legend such as James Brown gives him even more cinema cred. He is also supported with an amazing cast of some hard hitters. Boseman proves acting is his calling again with an amazing performance. He had James Brown down to the T in my opinion. Actually the acting on all accounts was amazing. The music has a good selection of some well known hits that are performed well. It is highly entertaining, dramatic, and still has a great amount of humor. I didn't realize the troubles he had gone through as a kid. He may have been a great musician, but he was clearly not the nicest person. Now I understand how he became the way he was, but it doesn't really justify his actions towards people. It seems that a lot of great musicians had tough lives or weren't really the best kind of people. I found it ironic when Nelsan Ellis mentions about Martin Luther King Jr's assasination as he had played him in The Butler. I like the fourth wall breaking. The way James Brown was it seems like something he would have actually done. It is an amazing film with a lot of funk. It's also pretty emotional while also have moments that make you full of joy. The ending was great and sweet. It is definitely a must see especially for James Brown fans.