Race

Films based on true stories or people have been a very popular format in the Hollywood community, and I don't see a slow down of them anytime in the foreseeable future, hence the new film based on a true story, "Race". This is probably the second film right behind "The Finest Hours" based on a true story thus far this year.

This is based on the incredible true story of Jesse Owens (Stephan James), the legendary athletic superstar whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy.
This film starts in fall of 1933 when Owens is accepted at Ohio State University in their track and field division. His coach, Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis) will soon come to realize Owens true potential and pursues in training Owens. Soon the Olympic Committee for the 1936 Olympics, namely Avery Brundage (Jeremy Irons) woos Owens to come to Berlin-- the home of the Olympics, even though the NAACP advises him to boycott it due to the racial prejudice here and in Germany with Nazism on the rise.
This is an enthralling film about courage, determination, tolerance and friendship, and an inspiring drama about one man's fight to become an Olympic legend.

Others to round out the cast are Eli Goree as Dave Albritton, a buddy and fellow track racer of Owen's, Shanice Banton as Ruth Solomon, Owen's girlfriend, Carice van Houten as Leni Riefenstahl, the Olympics film documentarian, William Hurt as Jeremiah Mahoney, David Kross as Carl 'Luz' Long, Jonathan Higgins as Dean Cromwell, Barnaby Metschurat as Joseph Goebbels, Tony Curran as Lawson Robertson and Amanda Crew as Peggy.

This was expressly well delineated by director Stephen Hopkins ("Predator 2" '90, "Judgment Night" '93, "Blown Away" '94, "The Ghost and the Darkness" '96, "Lost in Space" '98, "Under Suspicion" 2000, "The Reaping" '07, "Maggie Hill" (TV movie) '09, "Beautiful People" (TV movie) '12) plus episodic TV. By his very resume, this guy refuses to be pigeon-holed. Not just with his past films, but as with this film, this filmmaker constantly goes out on that limb to prove that he can direct anything and anyone: action, drama, sci-fi, it makes no difference. The pathos and emotion he was able to emit out of his actors had incredible impact. It was written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, and even though they have only one other film which they wrote under their belts, this was written fairly well. Certainly there were a few places of choppiness and inconsistencies, but definitely had promise. Since it looks as though these writers are a writing team, I'd be very curious to see what these guys would write next. I cannot write these off as poor writers because 1) they're not poor writers and 2) they have such potential, I believe these guys will only improve with each film they write, because this is the direction they are definitely headed. The cast was solid, certainly that of James and Sudeikis really shined as the coach. He usually acts in comedies so why doesn't this actor do more dramas?

It is amazing how many films out there have been based on true stories, and many more will be made as long as there are stories out there interesting enough to write a film about and as long as there is an audience eager to plunk down the bucks to enjoy these many stories that unfold before our very eyes for years to come. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3                                 Rated: PG-13                              134mins.