The movie 42 is a must-see. The awe-inspiring story will make you laugh, cry, and everything in-between. The story chronicles Jackie Robinson’s painful but inspiring journey of being the first African American to break the baseball color barrier back in 1947. Jackie (played with just the right mixture of bravado and humility by Chadwick Boseman) was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers’ (known now as the Los Angeles Dodgers) owner Branch Rickey (an Oscar-worthy performance by Harrison Ford).

Being the first African American in “white man’s baseball” was no easy task and couldn’t be handled by the faint of heart, which is the main reason the Dodgers picked Jackie. With his formal military experience (he was an army officer in World War II) and his outstanding play on the field he was exactly what they were looking for: but only if he could control his temper. For if he were to react to what the people were saying they would not see what they did, but only what he did. Through all the death threats and the criticism from the fans, Jackie still pulled through– and good thing he did, because he would change everything about baseball as we knew it.

Jackie opened up the eyes of the fans which allowed many more players to follow in his footsteps. Jackie’s legend will never die he is one of the most known baseball players in the history of baseball. His number (42) is retired by not only the Dodgers but by the every team in baseball. No one else in the history of baseball can say that besides him.

The film, written and directed by Brian Hegeland, opened nationwide to coincide with the start of the baseball season, and has been getting rave reviews. Even if you’re not a baseball fan, trust me, you’ll like this one.