Film review: Get On Up

Get On Up is a handsome biopic directed by Tate Taylor (The Help), which charts the rise of soul brother James Brown against a backdrop of civil unrest.
By The Newsroom
Published 27th Nov 2014, 18:00 BST
Undated Film Still Handout from Get On Up. Pictured: Chadwick Boseman as James Brown. See PA Feature FILM Film Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout/Universal. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Film Reviews.Undated Film Still Handout from Get On Up. Pictured: Chadwick Boseman as James Brown. See PA Feature FILM Film Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout/Universal. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Film Reviews.
Undated Film Still Handout from Get On Up. Pictured: Chadwick Boseman as James Brown. See PA Feature FILM Film Reviews. Picture credit should read: PA Photo/Handout/Universal. WARNING: This picture must only be used to accompany PA Feature FILM Film Reviews.

Thirty-two-year-old rising star Chadwick Boseman achieves a startling transformation to convincingly portray the musical legend across five decades that defined the face of multi-cultural America.

Get On Up is reminiscent of the Oscar-winning 2004 film Ray, which netted Jamie Foxx a golden statuette for his portrayal of rhythm and blues legend Ray Charles.

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Both films are conventional biopics and are selective about the episodes they immortalise of their singers’ turbulent lives.

Boseman is super good, capturing the impetuosity and unerring self-belief of the Godfather of Soul from age 16 to 60.