Race

A brilliant story of the incredible journey young Jesse Owens made, to compete at the 1936 Olympics. The American faces racism, injury trouble and persecution in his attempt for a gold medal.

It is a very significant story. Black athlete Jesse Owens boldly goes to the Nazi-hosted Olympics, despite the rein that Hitler is beginning to enter into. Not only does Owens face persecution by Nazis, but also racist Americans. It is a fantastic subject matter for a film, yet it somehow feels like film makers were intimidated by the subject matter. It is full of incident yet it lacks focus and sharpness. A film about a sprinter yet relatively slow paced.

With Rio 2016 just on the horizon it was a great time to release the film. However, maybe it was a curse. The film seems rushed in some areas, failing to focus on the really important factors that troubled Owens during his sprinting career.

The slow pace is very easy to notice during the first half of the film. Owens background is drawn out for far too long, detailing his poverty-stricken upbringing, and his trouble relationship with a beautician. Jason Sudeikis is brilliant in his role, despite it being somewhat too mature for him. The film has too many clichés. Montague’s, voiced over letter writing, rain during sad moments. Each moment feels like a trailer for a drama film.

Things do pick up towards the second half of the film. The tension racks up as the Nazis enter into the picture, and finally the film turns into the sprint it should be. There is a fantastic political tussle, Owens at one point is clearly snubbed by Hitler. ‘Traffic’ he says. One of the lamest excuses in the history of excuses.

We finally get some heart rendering moments in Race’s final moments. When Owens enters into the stadium it is goose pimpling stuff. It is brilliantly shot and shows what the film should have been more about. It’s a shame it took so long to get there.

There is no doubting that some of the camera work is terrific. There are some beautifully shot scenes, with some surprisingly good and serious acting by John Boyega.

It’s a great true-life story, which only really shows the good stuff at the end which we all knew about anyway. Still well worth a watch. With the Olympics coming up, it’s a great history insight, into one of sport’s greatest ever athletes.

My Rating: 7/10

Directors: Stephen Hopkins     Cast: John Boyega, Jason Sudeikis, Stephan James, Jeremy Irons, Shanice Banton