I saw this movie in 2011. I love boxing history and I love Jack Johnson (Called Jack Jefferson in the movie) who should have a much larger name in boxing than he does. He was big and powerful. I would rank him right up there with the best heavy weights ever including Ali. Perhaps even better and certainly dealt with much much more controversy than Ali ever did.
This movie may have been OK in it's time.
First of all it never shows his rise to be the champ and that was perhaps a more amazing story as no white fighter would even fight him to give him a chance at the title.
James Earl Jones (JEJ)does an amazing job but I don't think he was the right person. They likely just did not have enough candidates. The real Jack Johnson had a much more amiable look to him. He was someone you liked by just looking at him and a natural charm. You can not say that at all about JEJ. JEJ tries to break down his rough persona to appear more like Johnson by sudden flashes of child-like smiles and gestures, that simply were unnatural and for me did not do the job at all. His constant back and forth of his normal serious look and poorly faked charmed simply seemed to flow poorly. He was simply the wrong person and too rough to represent Jack Johnson. Of course physically Jack Johnson was much larger and more muscular than JEJ.
Then the movie jumps around too fast. When Johnson was beaten in Cuba the fight also was different. It was scheduled for 45 rounds. Johnson won the early rounds but as he was much older and out of shape he eventually ran of gas. In the movie I got the feeling like he left a broken down champion that was beaten but in reality he was old and past his prime. Much like Ali was when he was beaten on his last fight.
The movie also misrepresented his love affair. He had multiple white lovers over the years and one did not die by suicide as shown in the movie.
I just could not figure out what the movie was trying to show at the end. He was a great champion or he was not so great?? The portrayal was not done right.
If you like to really know about him correctly read on Wikipedia or watch a documentary Called 'Unforgivable Blackness' that is a master piece.
BTW I am not Black or White American. No bias here. I am Persian. But I give credit to Jack Johnson who was simply one the best man I have learned about: as a boxer and as fighter of racism. He had his faults like everyone else of course.
This movie may have been OK in it's time.
First of all it never shows his rise to be the champ and that was perhaps a more amazing story as no white fighter would even fight him to give him a chance at the title.
James Earl Jones (JEJ)does an amazing job but I don't think he was the right person. They likely just did not have enough candidates. The real Jack Johnson had a much more amiable look to him. He was someone you liked by just looking at him and a natural charm. You can not say that at all about JEJ. JEJ tries to break down his rough persona to appear more like Johnson by sudden flashes of child-like smiles and gestures, that simply were unnatural and for me did not do the job at all. His constant back and forth of his normal serious look and poorly faked charmed simply seemed to flow poorly. He was simply the wrong person and too rough to represent Jack Johnson. Of course physically Jack Johnson was much larger and more muscular than JEJ.
Then the movie jumps around too fast. When Johnson was beaten in Cuba the fight also was different. It was scheduled for 45 rounds. Johnson won the early rounds but as he was much older and out of shape he eventually ran of gas. In the movie I got the feeling like he left a broken down champion that was beaten but in reality he was old and past his prime. Much like Ali was when he was beaten on his last fight.
The movie also misrepresented his love affair. He had multiple white lovers over the years and one did not die by suicide as shown in the movie.
I just could not figure out what the movie was trying to show at the end. He was a great champion or he was not so great?? The portrayal was not done right.
If you like to really know about him correctly read on Wikipedia or watch a documentary Called 'Unforgivable Blackness' that is a master piece.
BTW I am not Black or White American. No bias here. I am Persian. But I give credit to Jack Johnson who was simply one the best man I have learned about: as a boxer and as fighter of racism. He had his faults like everyone else of course.