Race Review

The movie Race is a lot like the events Jesse Owens competed in, it is a fun time while watching but once it's over it's on to the next event.

Race is a sports biopic about African American athlete Jesse Owens, played by Stephan James, who won four medals at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.  The movie starts out right when Jesse is heading off to Ohio State University for college.  The coach at OSU is Larry Snyder, played by Jason Sudeikis.  Larry was once a great runner himself but has been struggling as a coach.  When Larry sees Jesse running he immediately knows his luck has changed.  Larry knows that Jesse is a natural talent and has a chance to succeed at every level, especially at the Olympics.  The only problem is that the next Olympic Games takes place in Berlin, Germany, during the Nazi regime.  The US Olympic Committee debated whether or not they should pull out of the games.  Jesse must also decide if he should participate because him attending the games was more than just about competing.  It was about sticking it to Hitler and the Nazi regime.

Overall Race was a decent movie.  I was entertained by the story.  I enjoyed learning about this moment in history.  The performances were fantastic, especially Stephan James and Jason Sudeikis.  Seeing Jason Sudeikis in a more serious role was delightful.  I was surprised to see Jeremy Irons and William Hurt in the movie.  I just don't feel like the movie brought anything new to the genre.  It is a pretty by the numbers sports biopic.  Athlete thrives early on to acclaim, meets some adversity that he must overcome, then overcomes that adversity and wins the day.  I never really felt emotionally involved in the film.  Nothing Jesse went through made me upset or extremely excited.  The events Jesse competed in were quick so the action during the competitions were over in less than a minute.

Race is a decent sports biopic that doesn't do much to change the game, but does provide a nice history lesson about one of this nations greatest athletes of all time.  I think it is worth a watch if you are interested in learning more about Olympic history.

3 1/2 Stars