I'm not sure if i'm a fan of Biopics.
They have been used in such a bad way by Hollywood in the last years.
Movies like Walk the line are generic as bad place. Most biopics are treated in such a robotic way that it feels static the whole time.
Look at Cinderella man, or walk the line. Or Ray. They are all so "safe" movies, which use the most basic of storytelling. They bring absolutely nothing new to films.
The problem is that such pictures are now associated these days with Oscars winners. And the Oscar is one of the worst thing you can aspire to. Oscars do NOT encourage imagination or innovation (exactly why they mostly dismissed Citizane Kane back then).
Story always seems like such a focus in these hollywood biopics. Which again brings those movies down, at least, most of the time. Since they are so generic in nature, them focusing on a story which they CAN'T change isn't helping. Not every life is interesting to tell. Where's the fun in the not-so orginal life of Johhny Cash ? It gets old fast, since we've all seen that so many times already.
But biopics can be wonderful if done right. A movie with great skills behind it can play with the audience's familiarity of the story's character.
Everybody knows about Jesus. Everyone knows about his tragic ending. Such emotions can be manipulated, and in the right hand is often gold.
Unfortunately, the right hands are few and so far away.
