“Get On Up” is about the life of musician James Brown, and for the most part it delivers a compelling and well-acted account of the trials and tribulations the Godfather of Soul had to go through to live up to that moniker.

The driving force behind this film is Chadwick Boseman’s fantastic performance as James Brown. Brown was a deeply flawed but exceptionally talented man, and Boseman does a great job capturing both sides of his manic personality. I was especially impressed by the scene between Boseman and Viola Davis as his mother who abandoned Brown and his abusive father when he was a boy. Even the concert scenes were well-played by Boseman, and he clearly worked to perfect Brown’s flowing dance moves.

The film is directed by Tate Taylor, who is best known for “The Help,” and he again proves he is adept at capturing the look of the past. The film covers Brown’s life from 1939 to 1993, and Taylor does a fine job of transitioning from decade to decade. The film is mostly linear, but the few moments in which the film flashes back serve the plot well.

I appreciate the fact that the film was not a sterilized portrayal of Brown’s life. For every scene like his concert after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., there’s one showing him to be egotistical and abusive. He was by no means a perfect man and the film doesn’t shy away from showing the man as he lived for better or worse. I didn’t think it was strange that there was no mention of Al Sharpton managing James Brown, but for the most part the movie seemed to be pretty well true to life.

Overall, “Get On Up” is a well done biopic about an extremely interesting man not without his issues. I enjoyed the music, the film was well cast, and it didn’t gloss over Brown’s less than admirable moments. Honestly, if anyone deserved a biopic to be made about him or her, it’s James Brown. His life is a fascinating collection of events and his role in history as a musician and in civil rights has made for a movie well worth watching.

4 out of 5 Stars