Review of Invictus (2009) by Randy T — 28 Apr 2011

On paper, I though this one had Oscar all over it. Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. Matt Damon in the supporting role. An inspiring story of a sports team facing adversity, and a quasi-biopic about overcoming racism. Set in South Africa during the ramp up to its coming out party on the global stage, the FIFA World Cup.

And it was a good film. But not nearly as good as I expected. On the whole I think it was just too flat. The acting was good, but the story was a bit tedious. The opening half was full of political manoeuvring and the final third was a loop of shots (game, crowd, people at home 1, people at home 2) set to overdramatic music that really sapped the powerful ending of most of its power. Maybe I oversold it to myself, but I feel like Eastwood just didn't hit as hard as usually does with this one. It's good enough, but from this director, I've gotten used to great. It happens, though. Scorsese's laid eggs (Bringing Out the Dead, Gangs of New York), so did even Billy Wilder (Sabrina); Invictus will stand the test of time, and it will remain watchable, but it's below Eastwood's usual standard.