Invincible Review
by news.west.earthlink.net (Steve DOT Rhodes AT InternetReviews DOT com)August 24th, 2006
INVINCIBLE
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2006 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): **
Although INVINCIBLE is being deceptively marketed as another sports movie from the producers of THE ROOKIE, it seems more interested in being another "Cheers." The long first third of the movie is set in a working class bar in south Philly. This plodding part is pure sitcom with very forced laughs and with more clichés than you can shake a stick at. The working class stiffs who hang out there are poor and on strike against the local factory.
This slice-of-life drama features a down-on-his-luck guy named Vince Papale (Mark Walberg, THE ITALIAN JOB). Even when he finally begins to get the break of a lifetime, a spot on his beloved Philadelphia Eagles football team, "Despondency" always seems to be his middle name. Laid off from his substitute teaching job, he makes ends meet by tending bar at night. His wife leaves him, taking with her all of their possessions. But, in a completely throwaway love story, he falls for Janet (Elizabeth Banks, THE FORTY YEAR OLD VIRGIN), a fellow bartender and an unabashed New York Giants fan.
Greg Kinnear (LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE) takes the underwritten role of Dick Vermeil, the new head coach of the Eagles, and never figures out any way to breathe any life into his part. Almost on a lark in his first press conference, Coach Vermeil announces that his team will hold open tryouts so the fans can see if they might have the stuff to be able to wear Eagle green. Only Vince makes it through the tryouts and ultimately onto the team itself. Since he never played college ball and suited up for only one season in high school, his earning a spot on a professional team, even just as a back on the specialty team, is pretty amazing.
The story itself is a true one and even has old film clips to prove it. How much liberty the writers take isn't clear. What is certain is that, except when the movie is on the football or practice field, it never rings true. Filled with sappy sentiment, the movie, even after the slow first third, keeps returning to the streets of south Philly for more little life lessons.
When the movie is on the field, it's pretty good. But, surprisingly, most of the football sessions are practices with lots of blocking and tackling drills. Actual games don't amount to much more than fifteen minutes of the whole movie.
The movie does have one great play, when Vince really plays his heart out and gets a lucky break to boot. It's such a stirring and heart-warming moment that you can almost forgive the film for all of the tedium it put you through to get there.
"I've seen glaciers move faster," one of the assistant coaches remarks during the tryouts. After suffering through all of the interminable scenes set in the south Philly neighborhood, I know just what he means.
INVINCIBLE runs 1:39. It is rated PG for "sports action and some mild language" and would be acceptable for all ages.
My son Jeffrey, age 17, gave it ***, calling it a feel-good football film. He found the handheld camera work made him dizzy, and he thought they overdid the use of slow motion - almost all of the football sequences are shown that way. He felt that they should have eliminated the romance and put in more football scenes in its place.
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, August 25, 2006. In the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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