NATCHEZ — Reviews are slowly starting to come in for the James Brown movie “Get On Up” with several critics agreeing the film attempts to break the mold on biographical movies.

The film, which was directed by Mississippian and Church Hill resident Tate Taylor, was filmed throughout Natchez and the surrounding area and opens in theaters nationwide Friday.

Screenings for members of the media are being hosted throughout the week in cities ranging from Baton Rouge to Chicago.

Those screenings are leading to reviews — both positive and negative — being filed by movie critics across the country.

A movie review in Variety stated the movie made “an admirable, fitfully successful stab” at detailing the life of the Godfather of Soul.

“‘Get On Up’ spends most of its time with Brown already ensconced as The Hardest Working Man in Show Business — onstage, in the recording booth, and in the rehearsal studio,” wrote Variety chief film critic Scott Foundas. “The movie is equally good at revealing Brown the musical innovator, who surrounded himself with a small army of talented sidemen and pushed them to be better than even they thought they could be.”

The Variety review praises Chadwick Boseman, who portrays Brown in the film, saying audiences “have a chance to see this remarkable actor in full bloom.”

But the review also speaks critically of Taylor, saying he “isn’t the sort of director one turns to for gritty historical realism.”

A review by The Hollywood Reporter also references Natchez natives and twins Jamarion Scott and Jordan Scott, who play Brown as a child in the movie.

The review says the twins shine in the film, “conveying (Brown’s) self-possession and powerful connection to gospel’s ecstatic rhythms.”

“All three actors are called upon to break the fourth wall, addressing the camera in asides that usually state the obvious,” reviewer Sheri Linden said.

A review by The Wrap, a Hollywood entertainment and media news website, says the movie avoids pitfalls of similar music films because “it places Brown into a specific cultural and political context, while also spelling out to a mass audience the musician’s innovations as a performer, artist and businessman.”

“At the same time, ‘Get On Up’ never skids into puff-piece territory,” The Wrap’s lead movie critic Alonso Duralde said. “The film shows us that Brown could be a devoted friend but also an insufferable egotist; a loving husband who could, in turn, be abusive to his wives; and a shrewd money manager who also found himself in debt after a series of misguided entrepreneurial decisions.

“It’s a film that keeps you on your toes by refusing to follow the predestined path of so many rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-ultimate-vindication stories of the genre.”

Natchez resident Charlie Vess said he didn’t need to be a Hollywood critic to know a great movie when we saw it Sunday in Madison at a benefit premiere.

“I think Tate Taylor has hit another home run in the movie businesses,” Vess said. “I call it a ‘docubiography’ because it parallels James Brown’s life on so many different levels.”

Vess, who said he was an avid Brown listener and fan in his earlier years, thought Boseman’s performance in the film would earn the rising actor major accolades.

“I had already seen his ability in acting in ’42,’ but he was just incredible as Brown,” Vess said. “I would suspect he will be nominated for an Academy Award next year.”

From start to finish, Vess said the movie is one that will appeal to audiences of all generations.

“Brown, himself, transcended a lot of ages and other areas because he was such a great artist, and I was just totally enthralled with how this movie did that,” Vess said. “It was just really fantastic.”