Dynamic and slightly hurried, that's what any film depicting "the hardest working man in show business" needs to be. And for the most part, 2014's Get On Up delivers. Of all the actors on this list, it's Chadwick Boseman that plays his character with the most reckless abandon, perpetually teetering the line on turning it into a caricature, but always pulling back just before it goes that far. His portrayal of the ultimate soul man, James Brown, is as fearless as the legendary musician was in his heyday. Boseman carries the film through some of its murkier elements, such as the frequent and intrusive flashback scenes that might be jarring if they didn't give us the opportunity to see another side of Boseman's performance. More than anything, Get On Up is about the music. And in that regard, it does a damn fine job of delivering the goods, as Boseman dances with the exact same combination of high energy and silky smoothness that Brown perfected. 140 minutes of pure delight.
