42 (Rated PG-13)

As a fan of baseball, I eagerly anticipated “42,” knowing that the legend of Jackie Robinson is more than a great sports story; it’s a critical turning point in race relations leading up to the Civil Rights era.

Celebrating the life of a true sports hero, “42” does not disappoint. Though it has the look and feel of an old-fashioned sports drama, this film has an elegant grace and beauty for its realization of the post-war period.

Most baseball fans love nostalgia, particularly for old ballparks now long gone, like Ebbets Field, the Polo Grounds, Forbes Field and Crosley Field. With the help of CGI, these ballparks are lovingly recreated.

The visual appeal of “42” is stunning, and great pains were taken to bring realism to all facets. Even the magnificent Dodger Blue team bus pulling into a Philadelphia hotel parking lot is a gem.

The Jackie Robinson story is well-documented and given the fact that his uniform number 42 has been retired throughout Major League Baseball, there are few surprises about the first African-American to break the color barrier.

Writer and director Brian Helgeland, an obvious admirer of the titular character, focuses his homage to Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) on a tight schedule of the ballplayer’s quick move from the Negro Leagues to the Major League during the period of 1945 to 1947.

Not to be overlooked is the love story subplot in which Robinson, then playing with the Kansas City Monarchs, proves his devotion to his lovely future wife Rachel (Nicole Beharie), a stabilizing, supportive presence.

The central character pushing Robinson’s advancement into the Major League ranks, thus breaking baseball’s segregation, is Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford), a cigar-chomping crusty old white guy who sees Robinson for the talented ballplayer that he is.

To be sure, Rickey wanted to integrate baseball and he settled on Robinson, not just for his athletic abilities, but for his temperament and strength to endure the vitriol and abuse to follow.

Well aware that his move to change the sports world was fraught with risk, Rickey wanted a player with the “guts not to fight back” when provoked. He needed someone with the fortitude to endure the hateful taunts.

To his credit, Helgeland does not gloss over the sheer animosity and ugly fury that would greet Robinson playing with white players, even in Northern cities where race relations were supposedly marginally better.

The news of Robinson’s arrival on the Dodgers team is not greeted with enthusiasm by the white players. Almost to a man, they sign a petition that asks for the black player to be excluded from the team.

An underutilized Dodgers team manager Leo Durocher (Christopher Meloni), with one forceful outburst of vocal support for a talented player of any color, proves as great an influence as the vaunted Branch Rickey.

Proving to be an enthusiastic hustler on the field, gifted base-runner and capable hitter, Robinson slowly wins over most, though clearly not all, of his recalcitrant teammates.

Yet, there is no greater unifying force than a common enemy. In this case, it’s Phillies manager Ben Chapman (Alan Tudyk), a racist so vile that his vicious epithets hurled at Robinson turns the tide of public sympathy to the hero’s direction.

Frankly, Chapman’s on-field tirade, whenever Robinson is up at bat, is not only humiliating to the black player, but it comes off as uncomfortably disturbing for the prolonged nature of its loathsome depravity.

While some teammates remain indifferent or subdued, some players, like Ralph Branca (Hamish Linklater) and Pee Wee Reese (Lucas Black), embrace Robinson for being a great team player who badly wants to win for his club.

In fact, Pee Wee famously put his arm around Robinson on the baseball field at Cincinnati’s Crosley Field, showing his solidarity for a teammate abused by the taunts of the ballpark crowd.

Playing it safe in many respects, “42” is a thing of artistic beauty for its celebration of Jackie Robinson, a fitting tribute to a real hero that Major League Baseball honors each year on April 15.

Yet, unlike its namesake, “42” doesn’t take many creative chances in telling what should be a very complex story. Both Robinson and Rickey come off like candidates for sainthood, as if any character flaws should be ignored.

The star of the show is Chadwick Boseman, a name unfamiliar to most. His Jackie Robinson captures the grace, dignity and athletic prowess of a true American hero. “42” is all the better for his presence, and he makes this film well-worth watching. In baseball parlance, “42” hits a home run.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.