Directed by: Dexter Fletcher
Rating: ★★★½
I was not expecting good things from this movie. Not only has Hugh Jackman been off his game with some of his most recent career choices, the film itself also looked like a bit fat wedge of Stinking Bishop.
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| It's winning that's important- it's taking part. |
I only saw this movie because my friend Tracy, Hugh Jackman’s number one fan, made me go with her.
So I was very surprised to discover that Eddie the Eagle is actually a pretty decent film. It’s not as cheesy as I thought it might be, and due to a strong script and brilliant directing, the film is elevated from a standard ‘overcoming the odds sports movie’ to a great ‘overcoming the odds sports movie’.
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| Can Hugh help Eddie make it to the Olympic Games? |
Eddie Edwards (Egerton) has always dreamed of becoming an Olympic athlete, but after a series of setbacks it seems like he never will- until he meets former ski jump Olympian Bronson Peary (Jackamn), who grudgingly helps Eddie train so that he can get a place on the British Olympic team.
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| An unlikely friendship... |
Anyone who knows of or has heard about Eddie Edwards knows exactly what is going to happen- he’s going to get to the Olympics- but this goal is built up in a way that is unnerving and original, and the finale is not as saccharine as it could have been- we earn that happy ending- which is one of the things I liked the most about the movie: it is genuine in the way that it tugs at your heart strings.
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| We want Eddie to get the opportunity to jump! |
The retro soundtrack is great, and the visuals are superb. My hat goes off to Dexter Fletcher (Baby Face) for his excellent directing skills. Not only does he tell the story in a beautifully compelling way, he also creates a lot of tension and emotional moments by visually demonstrating just how monumental ski jumps actually are. Seventy metres doesn’t sound high, but when you see it from the bottom of a pair of skis, you realise exactly what is on the line for the people attempting the jumps.
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| Just how will Eddie overcome the odds? |
Hugh does his best at being a grizzled and brutish father figure with a heart of gold, and Jo Hartley and Keith Allen are good as Eddie’s parents. After the abominable film Kingsman, I’m still not sold on Taron, but I will give him credit for channelling a likeable version of Eddie Redmayne’s terrible (but Academy Award winning!) Stephen Hawking.
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| It's very high up there...! |
Eddie the Eagleis a family film with heart. It is an involving, exciting, and at times brutal vision of the lengths that one must go through just to compete as an Olympian.
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| Eddie the Eagle- will he soar? |
I’m not usually a fan of British cinema, but what Eddie the Eagle does best is embrace the fact that it is a movie about a loser, a loser who we know will never win: he just wants to compete. And it’s great to watch a film that actually advocates the tired Olympic ethos of ‘the taking part that counts'- because Eddie believes this so valiantly, and knows that he never will win, it turns him from a zero into a hero.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
Not only is this my 10th review of a Hugh Jackman movie, it is also my 250th post, which is fitting seeing as how a significant part of this blog has been dedicated to Hugh Jackman’s (often atrocious) films.
250 posts, way more than 250 movies- it seems ages ago I started this blog as a little side project. But now, with over 260,000 views, it’s turned into something much bigger than I had ever envisioned.
Thank you for reading- and let’s hope they’ll be 250 (and many more) posts!
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