Race

Jesse Owens learned from his coach that you win races with your mind more than your legs. It’s unfortunate the Owens biopic Race doesn’t heed the same advice.

This slick crowd-pleaser should at least share the basics about the gold-medal sprinter from the 1936 Olympics with a new generation that’s only read about his inspirational accomplishments in history books.

Yet by glossing over many of the more intimate details, it feels more like a highlight reel — both on and off the track — that turns its subject into more of a symbol for Nazi opposition than a multifaceted character in his own right.

Owens (Stephan James) grew up in a working-class family in Cleveland, earning a scholarship to join the track team at Ohio State for fledgling coach Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis), whose recruitment of black athletes was groundbreaking at the time.

Despite facing racial prejudice, Owens’ athletic ability made him one of the top American sprinters prior to the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. Behind the scenes, U.S. organizers including Avery Brundage (Jeremy Irons) were debating whether to boycott over concerns about the Nazi regime’s preferred exclusion of black and Jewish athletes.

Eventually, Owens decides to compete at the urging of his coach and mentor, drawing consternation from Adolf Hitler with every victory.

James (Selma) conveys depth and charisma as Owens, and generates a convincing rapport with Sudeikis despite the screenplay’s tendency to present much of its story in snippets. There’s not much emotional resonance in the coverage of his upbringing, or relationship with his wife (Shanice Banton) and young daughter, or his moral dilemma about competing amid pressure to make a political statement.

The film benefits from a greater focus in the final hour, which is set almost exclusively in Berlin. There’s a touching sequence involving Owens’ unlikely friendship with German broad jumper Luz Long (David Kross), and an effective subplot involving filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl (Carice van Houten), who both documented the Games on film and served as a translator for the Americans.

It’s a workmanlike effort from director Stephen Hopkins (Lost in Space) that doesn’t live up to the legacy of its source material. While Owens left Berlin with four gold medals — and a deserving place as one of the greatest athletes of the early 20th century — Race at best settles for the bronze.

Rated PG-13, 134 minutes.