Film Review – Get on Up

While music bio-pics are always difficult to take seriously, 2007’s “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” effectively drove a sword into the subgenre with its spot-on parody of clichés, absurdities, and dramatic crutches. There have been so many efforts, and few of them manage to capture the soulfulness of both the music and the artist, it’s a wonder why Hollywood continues to try at all. However, the lure of James Brown proves seductive to director Tate Taylor, who follows up his smash hit, “The Help,” with another tale of racial tension and confession, this time celebrating the mysterious ways of The Godfather of Soul. “Get on Up” is a profoundly flawed feature, but it retains an irresistible subject, with Brown’s insanity and adversity making an energetic leap to the big screen. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com