‘Race’ (2016)

Focus Features has released the first trailer for director Stephen Hopkins’ biopic Race, about athletic superstar Jesse Owens. I’ll admit it’s a little odd to see a historical biopic from the director of Predator 2 and Lost in Space, but Race certainly looks to be a handsomely made film, even if it does feel a bit familiar. Owens’ story is definitely one worth telling, however, and Selma actor Stephan James appears to do a swell job of inhabiting the character.

The film is based on the incredible true story of Jesse Owens, the legendary athletic superstar whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler’s vision of Aryan supremacy.Race is an enthralling film about courage, determination, tolerance, and friendship, and an inspiring drama about one man’s fight to become an Olympic legend.

Race co-stars Jason Sudeikis (Horrible Bosses, We’re the Millers), Jeremy Irons (“The Borgias,”Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice), Shanice Banton (“Haven,” “Lost Girl”), William Hurt (A History of Violence, “Humans”), and Carice van Houten (“Game of Thrones,” Valkyrie) as German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who documented the historical event. Directed by Stephen Hopkins (“House of Lies,” The Ghost and the Darkness), the film is set to open in theaters on February 19, 2016.