The first look at Tate Taylor’s Get On Up promises a lot of yells, singing, and epic dance moves. But how does Chadwick Boseman stack up as the Godfather of Soul?
Universal’s Get On Up is the long awaited James Brown biopic, which finds 42 star Chadwick Boseman getting on the good foot as the lead funketeer.
The picture is slated to recount the “rags-to-riches” story of the hardest working man in show business, from his impoverished childhood, time in prison and ascendancy to superstardom. A sub-plot also involves Brown’s mother, whom will be played by Viola Davis, who abandoned him at age 6, and his aunt (played by Octavia Spencer), who raised him in a brothel.
The trailer is light in form and function, but you do see glimpses of the drama that happened throughout Brown’s life. This also includes an epic shot of a velour jumpsuit wearing Brown toting a shotgun in what looks like a church.
Watch the trailer below:
Boseman as Brown doesn’t send chills up our spine as the latter was truly one-of-a-kind, and it is hard to redo such physical characteristics. But Boseman’s vocal capacity as the funky-mouthed band leader is well done and lends a strong credence as to why anyone who is a fan of the funk and soul movement of the ’70s should check out this movie.
As the trailer promises, “What you have heard is only the beginning.”
Get On Up also stars Craig Robinson, Dan Aykroyd, Nelsan Ellis, Jill Scott and Tika Sumpter. It will hit theaters on August 1, 2014.