Race, biopic of Olympic hero Jesse Owens, takes the safe route, says CBC's Eli Glasner

Eli Glasner | CBC News | Posted: February 19, 2016 1:10 PM | Last Updated: February 19, 2016

Canadian up-and-comer Stephan James shines as Jesse Owens

Media | Race gets 3 out of 5 stars

Caption: As Olympic champion Jesse Owens, Stephan James shines in Race. But an uninspired treatment and script reduce this gold-medal tale to predictable drama, says Eli Glasner

Open Full Embed in New Tab Loading external pages may require significantly more data usage.

As Jesse Owens, the African-American track-and-field superstar of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Race star Stephan James radiates confidence.

Canadian up-and-comer James and funnyman Jason Sudeikis, as Owens' unconventional coach, deliver strong performances in the Stephen Hopkins film.

Unfortunately, Race feels like a lustrous after-school special, suffering from an uninspired treatment that favours a cozy, glossy look over gritty authenticity.

Image | Film Review Race

Caption: Canadian actor Stephan James radiates confidence as Jesse Owens in the new Stephen Hopkins film Race. (Thibault Grabherr/Focus Features/Associated Press)

Open Image in New Tab

What also doesn't help is the sprawling script saddled with side stories: from the battle over whether to boycott an Olympics held in Nazi-ruled Germany to a subplot about propaganda filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, whose footage would become the groundbreaking doc Olympia.

In the end, Race is a little too obvious, says CBC's Eli Glasner.

Watch the video above for Glasner's complete review.

RATING: 3 out of 5 stars

Image | Film Review Race

Caption: Race rests on strong performances from Stephan James, centre, as Jesse Owens and Jason Sudeikis, right, as his coach Larry Snyder. (Thibault Grabherr/Focus Features/Associated Press)

Open Image in New Tab

Race, biopic of Olympic hero Jesse Owens, takes the safe route, says CBC's Eli Glasner

More Stories Like This