It's OK. The performances are all universally good. Chadwick Boseman perfectly embodies James Brown, and I though Nelsan Ellis and Viola Davis both gave effective supporting performances. Also the musical sequences are all energetic and there's a nice score from Thomas Newman. The way the movie is structured is bizarre as well - it constantly jumps back and forth from different time periods and instead of working it often makes the film feel very fractured and awkward. The writing for a few scenes was just sloppy and didn't make any sense, and in one case was borderline laughable. It's also way, way too long, clocking in at almost two and a half hours - by the end I was more than ready for it to be over. I was a little disappointed because I LOVED The Help and found it heartbreaking. There's a lot of potential here, it's just a shame that aside from the performances it's not more fully realized. C+


Also, if you're seeing it for Octavia Spencer or Viola Davis, you may be disappointed. Davis actually has a role and a couple of good moments, but her screentime adds up to maybe 10 minutes or so total. Spencer's role is really just an extended cameo - she's in it for 5 minutes tops, though she does have a lovely scene with a younger James Brown near the middle of the movie. Also, there are so many actors from The Help in this movie that I'm not even sure I spotted them all. Allison Janney even shows up for a minute!