Life, The Universe and Jackie Robinson: Trailer For Brian Helgeland's 42!

Here in Boston, we're not having what you'd call a good baseball year, so it's understandable that most of us have already set our attentions firmly on the still burgeoning football season.  But before we all put America's pastime in the rear view, let's take a look at the trailer for 42, the story of Jackie Robinson's rise as the first black player in Major League Baseball.

I really like what I'm seeing here from Chadwick Boseman, a TV actor who's done great work on shows like Fringe and Justified.  I think he's got the chops to give us something pretty special.  Plus it's nice to see Harrison Ford actually awake in a movie these days.  I wouldn't fixate too much on the modern music choice, as that reeks purely of marketing.

Most fascinating is the re-emergence of helmer Brian Helgeland after almost a full decade away from the camera.  The director of A Knight's Tale and Payback starring Mel Gibson (a movie who's epic post-production woes would have been enough to drive most men away filmmaking all together) has spent most of the millenium writing projects like Man On Fire, The Taking Of Pelham 1 2 3 and The Green Zone, but this looks like a tremendous tonal shift from much of his earlier work.  I'm more than a little curious to see how Helgeland's time away from directing has shaped his onscreen vision.

Amazingly, the Jackie Robinson tale has remained largely untouched by Hollywood, so here's hoping Helgeland does it justice.  Hell, it might even get me to root for the Dodgers for two hours...