Race (2016)

The best thing about this movie is the performance of the star, Stephan James. He is very good as Jesse Owens.

The biggest problem with this movie is the length, 134 minutes. It is WAY too long for what it has to offer. The first hour or so, before we get to Berlin, plays like a so-so made-for-TV movie and should have been cut, drastically. Once we get to Berlin, things get much better.

That leaves the other problem, the script. I don't know how much of what we see is actually factual and how much was invented, but too often it isn't very dramatic. (Contrast it with *42*.) Yes, some of the events in the Olympics are very moving, but that's largely because of what happens, not because of the way it's presented. A good script doesn't just repeat historical events, it puts them together in a way that makes them effective, leaving out what isn't effective, and presents them in powerful language that makes them stick in the memory. This script doesn't do that.

If it's true that this is the first feature-length film about Owens, then it's good to have it. There isn't anything here that will harm his reputation.

But neither, alas, is there a movie here that will fix it indelibly in the minds of viewers. That movie remains to be made, and, I hope, will start with a much better, much shorter script.

Detail / Info

Genre : Drama,
Duration : 134 min
Release Date : 19 Feb 2016
Rating : 7.1
Writer : Joe Shrapnel, Anna Waterhouse
Director : Stephen Hopkins
Company : Forecast Pictures
Movie Casts :
Stephan James as Jesse Owens, Jason Sudeikis as Larry Snyder,Carice van Houten as Leni Riefenstahl, Jeremy Irons as Avery Brundage, Amanda Crew as Peggy, William Hurt as Jeremiah Mahoney