Playing the lead role in a biopic about of famous figure is always going to be a challenge, but when you're dealing with someone as absurdly charismatic and colourful as soul legend James Brown, very few actors could pull off a convincing rendition. Talented up-and-comer Chadwick Boseman followed up his sublime work as Jackie Robinson in baseball flick 42 with another jaw-droppingly chameleonic performance here, not simply impersonating the singer in the way that a half-decent tribute act might, but completely inhabiting the physical tics, the spirit and the soul of the man. From the tenor of his voice to the facial expressions and everything in between, there's never a second here that Boseman's veneer falters, and though the film itself might be a relatively familiar biopic, the man's performance is beyond reproach, and another sure feather in his cap. Given the pressure involved with playing such an iconic person on screen, Boseman's bravura work, which included all of his own dancing and some of his own singing, is an incredibly daring work of mind-boggling mimicry. No wonder Marvel snapped him up for the role of Black Panther...
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
