The new movie “Hidden Figures” is an inspiring bit of history with a trio of superb performances at its core. This underdog story will certainly get audiences cheering, although it seems somewhat blunted by a curiously reserved manner of storytelling. Still, sometimes you just want an entertaining and uplifting movie, and “Hidden Figures” fits the bill splendidly.

Based on the book by Margot Lee Shetterly, “Hidden Figures” introduces us to Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), a math prodigy who is working for NASA in the 1960s, despite the fact that it was staffed at the time by engineers who were almost entirely white and male.

She is initially working as a computer, the human fact-checkers who did the calculations needed for the main engineers to put an astronaut into space, but she is promoted when it becomes apparent that she is the smartest person in the room. The head of the Space Task Group (Kevin Costner) reasons that it will take America’s best people to beat the Russians, so why let race or gender get in the way of the Friendship and Apollo missions?

This is also the story of a visionary supervisor, Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) and a trailblazing engineer, Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) as they face similar obstacles at NASA, but “Hidden Figures” shines its brightest light on Katherine Johnson, and there’s something quietly noble about the way she strikes a blow for civil and gender rights by simply doing her job to the best of her abilities.

The tone of the movie is perhaps a bit softer than you might expect from a story that has race and gender discrimination at its core. There isn’t any profanity or shocking moments of violence, and there are times when the movie seems as if it was intended to be a mild comedy rather than a dramatic biography. That’s a bit of a problem, as the story comes across as a sanitized version of history aimed at audiences looking for a feel-good drama rather than a challenging piece of genuine history.

Despite that tonal issue, the movie still soars thanks to the work of Henson, Spencer, Monáe and Costner. These are seasoned, highly competent actors who know how to wring the most out of their roles without resorting to melodramatics. Monáe, the only rookie in the group, isn’t quite up to dramatic par, but she has enough natural charisma to make me think that she has an impressive film career ahead.

Kudos also go to the filmmakers for ramping up the suspense surrounding John Glenn’s Friendship 7 mission. Even casual history buffs should know the outcome of that space flight, so it’s to the filmmakers’ credit that the movie makes it into an edge-of-your-seat adventure.

“Hidden Figures” ends up being one of those inspiring stories about heroes who rise when they are called to serve. I would be interested in seeing a Katherine Johnson biography that had a bit more bite, but as an inspirational bit of unknown American history, “Hidden Figures” soars. These “Hidden Figures” definitely deserve their time in the light.

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published bi-weekly in “The Port Arthur News” and seen weekly on KFDM and KBTV. Sean welcomes your comments via email at smcbride@sbgtv.com.com.