( CNN ) -- Chadwick Boseman has every reason to feel good as `` Get On Up '' opens in theaters . Reviews are strong for the Tate Taylor-directed James Brown biopic as a whole , but critics have been particularly pleased with Boseman , who 's managed to transform himself into the late Godfather of Soul . `` Whatever else one may fault about 'Get On Up , ' one thing that 's faultless is its star , Chadwick Boseman , who plays Brown from age 16 to 60 with a dexterity and invention worthy of his subject , '' praised Variety . Entertainment Weekly , which thought `` Get On Up 's '' PG-13 take is too sanitized , was quick to add that `` the best thing the movie has going for it is Chadwick Boseman 's live-wire channeling of Brown . '' Such words are likely comforting for Boseman , who , after portraying baseball icon Jackie Robinson in 2013 's `` 42 , '' was hesitant to take on another biopic , let alone one for a man as seminal as James Brown . `` When I first saw the script , I was like , I 'm not even going to open it up and read it . There 's no way I 'm playing James Brown , '' he told the `` Today '' show , adding that he knew the work it would take to accurately portray The Hardest Working Man in Show Business . The CNN 10 : Chadwick Boseman , and nine more `` Fresh Faces '' `` I had to do a lot of soul-searching before I took it on , '' Boseman admitted to EW . `` Because to me , nobody should be playing James Brown . '' According to The Hollywood Reporter , director Taylor , who had another summer hit in 2011 with `` The Help , '' spent two months convincing 32-year-old Boseman to take the part . `` I realized that first and foremost , I had to find a brilliant actor , '' Taylor told THR . `` It 's easy to gravitate toward the costumes and the dancing , but I just realized that somebody was going to have to play a 63-year-old , and that 's what I had him read for . So I just searched for an actor with skill , and Chadwick was the guy . '' To a certain extent , telling Brown 's story was n't dissimilar to telling Jackie Robinson 's . In both instances , Boseman had to put in hours to effectively portray game-changing talent . Those dance moves you 've seen him do in the `` Get On Up '' trailers ? The result of five-hour practice sessions five days a week , not to mention what he put in during his downtime . `` I was obsessed with it , '' Boseman told `` Today . '' The effort appears to have paid off as `` Get On Up '' opens Friday , and some are already eyeing Oscar season . `` As much as I hate using the O word seven months before the Academy Awards , '' said Time magazine critic Richard Corliss , who credited Boseman with `` carrying and lifting 'Get On Up ' to its most impressive heights , '' `` I 'm obliged to predict an aisle seat for Boseman on Oscar night . ''
Chadwick Boseman portrays James Brown in the biopic `` Get On Up '' Critics are praising his performance . At first the actor did n't want to take the role . But he said that it was a good opportunity for him and he would do whatever they asked of him.