Invictus

Invictus

We couldn't celebrate one World Cup without considering this cinematic representation of another. The Rugby World Cup took place in South Africa in 1995, and from the story of the competition - and the political events surrounding it - director Clint Eastwood has managed to craft a surprisingly poignant tale of endurance, hope, and bone-crunching tackles.

To categorize Invictus as an outright sports movie would be a mistake, however, for Eastwood casts his net far wider than that. This is primarily the story of Nelson Mandela's early years as the President of South Africa, and the sports action only accounts for about a quarter of the finished film, lending an intriguing spin to his political struggles.

A large part of Invictus's success rests upon the ability of Morgan Freeman to represent the South African President on the screen, and he achieves a surprising success as the soft-spoken diplomat. Freeman is significantly taller and more imposing than Mandela, but he inhabits his personality perfectly, imbuing the world leader with an inner peace and grace that convince us far more than any amount of make-up artistry.

Matt Damon is also a surprise as South African Rugby captain Francois Pienaar. He was never destined to be a dead ringer for the towering flanker, and the prosthetic nose they've given him is unable to perform the necessary miracle (Damon must have an undeclared love of prosthetics - check out The Informant! for another nasal add-on). His convincing accent and the fake nose are just enough to help us forget that he's an international star, however, and by the end of Invictus you'd swear that you've been watching a professional rugby player.

Well, almost - I'm not sure he could match most of the South African team beer for beer.

When Mandela (Freeman) is released from prison he's quickly elected into power as South Africa's first black president, but once he takes the position his struggle is only just beginning. The country is still fatally divided, the division stretching even as far as Mandela's own bodyguards, and his attempts to create a multicultural 'rainbow' nation seem idealistic at best.

When the sports committee seeks to change the name of the country's rugby team due to its negative connotations, though, Mandela sees an opportunity for conciliation and rebuilding. He convinces them to retain the Springboks name, and then he sets out to achieve the impossible - to encourage black South Africa to support the team that was a symbol of oppression for so long.

Eastwood doesn't shy away from showing us the action on the field as the Rugby World Cup gets underway, but it's the political dynamic behind the tackles that truly drives the action. There have been plenty of movies dealing with sporting success in the past, but few that have considered such an internationally significant achievement, or one that has changed the fate of a country in such a vitally important way.

Revolving around two impressive performances by Damon and Freeman, Invictus manages to pull all this together into an emotionally satisfying and uplifting whole. They could have lost a couple of the soft rock tunes, though.

4/5

Invictus

Invictus - Directed by Clint Eastwood, starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon - Rated PG-13

I think "District 9" is a more interesting film about South Africa and apartheid, but "Invictus" is still very good.



Invictus, Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial effort, is a well made inspirational film with an important message, but it falls short of greatness. The story is about South Africa after apartheid and the struggle to keep the racially divided country together. Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) is the newly elected president who has been given this task. With mass poverty, an economic crisis, and open hatred between the races he decides to focus on South Africa’s rugby team. He enlists their captain, Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), to motivate his team to win the rugby world cup (which is a much bigger deal in the rest of the world than it is in North America).

Invictus is not just a motivational sports movie, though. The focus is more on the political side of things. As Mandela enters the office for the first day of his presidency, most of the white office workers are packing up and leaving, assuming they are to be fired. Mandela allows them all to stay and he also makes a point to diversify his security staff (more on them later). He realizes that these small scale changes will not accomplish much and he finds his solution at an appearance at a rugby match. Mandela notices that the white fans cheer for South Africa, and the black fans cheer for England (or whoever happens to be playing South Africa), which is exactly what he did when he was imprisoned. Mandela realizes that “petty revenge” won’t solve anything, so instead of doing away with the team’s traditions, he encourages all of South Africa should embrace the team.

This sounds all well and good, but it’s a bit hard to get into a movie in which all the action takes place through a sport that is obscure at best to an American audience. I understood that the games were about more than winning, but I had almost no idea what was going on during the matches. This is actually a joke in the film as the black characters in the film are just as baffled by the game as the audience in the theater. I get the joke, but I wanted multiple, intense rugby scenes that focus on the simpler parts of the game rather than a few gags in which characters ask, “What happened? Is that good?” Eastwood does accomplish this in the final game with some great sound work and slow motion, but it was too little too late for the rugby.




Regardless of the cultural divide, the importance of the games is easy to understand. I may not have understood what was happening most of the time, but I knew how I felt when it was over. This is one of the most hopeful, uplifting movies I have seen in recent memory. In a cinematic world that seems to focus more and more on misery, death, and violence it was nice to watch a movie about human beings that overcome hate. Is that sappy? Maybe, but it’s also refreshing. But the movie does crossover into extremely sappy territory when it comes to song selection, though. Eastwood goes with an original song titled “Colorblind” that features lyrics such as, “it’s not just a game.” The music is too obvious and it’s stating things that Eastwood has already accomplished.

The musical missteps and confusing rugby scenes aside, this is a solid film. Freeman and Damon strengthen the film immensely. I don’t think they’ll be winning Oscars for their work or anything, but they do carry the film very well. Freeman is great, (as he should be, since Mandela himself has said that Freeman is the only actor who could play him) but his performance is really just a great impersonation. He does convey a presidential authority in every scene, though, and he made the film amusing at times. Damon is fine; it’s just that his character didn’t have much to do. His performance in The Informant! was much more impressive.

What makes this movie a bit more interesting, though, is the fact that the focus isn’t solely on Mandela and Pienaar. A subplot about the newly diverse security detail supplies much of the heart of the film. Add to that subplot scenes of the rugby players teaching kids about the sport, a child trying to listen to the game alongside police officers, and regular people coming together to watch the championship game and you have an encompassing picture of how important that one rugby match was to an entire country. Despite the slight missteps, Eastwood crafts an inspirational film that manages to (barely) get past an audience’s ignorance of rugby and show that a country can overcome severe differences, with the help of some born leaders and a common goal. Even if that goal involves a sport in which it is really hard to tell how goals are scored.

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Eric Harris - www.canneltoncritic.com

Last updated: 2010-05-10 05:49:48 by user06

FILM REVIEW : Invictus (2009)

With films like Changeling and Million Dollar Baby, Clint Eastwood has proven himself to be one of the finest and most consistent directors of his time. He prefers to keep his style fairly traditional, but he works fine in the traditional realm.
I saw the film mainly because of the awards attention it has been receiving. Although I have loved several of Dirty Harry's films, I did not have high expectations for Invictus. I thought it would be mediocre at best, a bland and obnoxious biographical motion picture about someone I knew hardly anything about. Well, I must say that I was wrong...
It was much worse than I had expected

With Invictus, a film about Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) and his ardent love of rugby, Clint has finally done it: he's made a genuine failure of a motion picture. A fellow film fanatic, a die-hard fan of Clint in fact, also says the same thing. Ladies and gentlemen, I present Invictus, the most cliched and overrated film of 2009.
 

 
                               Films like Invictus just shouldn't exist... I don't care who's behind the camera!
 
Here's the portion of my review where I would describe the story... but I'm not really sure if there was one. Nelson Mandela (portrayed uninterestingly by Morgan Freeman) has just been elected President of South Africa. He is trying to unite the racially segregated country through... rugby. He recruits the captain of the South African rugby team (Matt Damon, who's better than Freeman but that's not saying much in regards to Invictus) to... um, win the world cup? I'm honestly not sure. Freeman was so bland in his portrayal that I had no clue what he was trying to do.
 
As I've said, Clint Eastwood failed us. Big time. I can understand his traditional style in films such as Gran Torino, Million Dollar Baby, and even Invictus. However, this time he crossed the line dividing traditional and cliche. As a matter of fact, he seems to be so far into cliche that he barely even remembers traditional.

This is most evident in the final sequence of the film, where people are SPOILER (CLICK AND SCROLL OVER TO SEE) essentially jumping around in slow-motion yelling that they won the World Cup. For roughly fifteen minutes. It was one of the worst things I've seen a film all year. In fact, it may rank with any scene from G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra as the single worst scene in a motion picture this year! Hopefully it isn't an indicator that Dirty Harry has lost his touch, but he's certainly not on his A-game with Invictus.

In addition to Clint's surprisingly bland directing, the writing was very poor. Further than that, it was far-fetched in its one-dimensional portrayal of racial tensions. To make my point, I'll bring up Remember the Titans. The film showed the growing friendships between the racially skewed members of the football team. The racial integration was believable! But can a whole country forget all of their former racial insecurities because the country's rugby team is successful? I seriously doubt it
 
 
He could at least smile while waving to the unfortunate audience of this film. See what I mean when I say he's not engaging?
 
As I've mentioned, Morgan Freeman's performance is not in any way engaging or interesting. Never sinking into the role a full one hundred percent, Freeman falls in and out of his accent. And speaking of that accent, he does't even sound like Nelson Mandela. He sounds like himself with an African accent. The Oscar nomination Freeman will receive is an unfortunate inevitability. There are many far better performances to be had than this.
 
 
                                 Matt Damon plays Francois well... but he's not anything to write home about

Matt Damon puts in some good work as Francois, the South African rugby captain. However, it's not at all deserving of all this awards attention. Aside from sounding like a South African and not Matt Damon's South African twin (ahem, Freeman?), he doesn't get the opportunity to do much at all. Towards the end he has a speech that was definitely written with "Oscar clip" in mind. Let's hope that doesn't come to pass.

So we have a poorly directed, sloppily written film that is acted in a fairly uninteresting fashion. It's called Invictus, and I cannot recommend it to anyone.

Not recommended. Except for playing a cruel joke on someone.

Rating: 3.5 out of 10 stars; 2 out of 5 stars

Photo Courtesies
Invictus: The Film Talk
Morgan Freeman: Cinerama
Matt Damon: Filmofilia

Julian Stark (pen name)<br />
<br />
Founder/Editor: Movies and Other Things<br />
<br />
http://julianstark-moviesandotherthings.blogspot.com

Last updated: 2010-04-10 01:01:55 by user07

Booze Revooze: A Drinker’s Skewed View of INVICTUS

Final Proof: 4 Shots

You know how you drink with heroes?  Those people who make you feel better about yourself, not by getting drunker than you but simply by hanging with you. They’ve got this inner light thing going on which doesn’t even come from the booze. What makes them rock so hard though, isn’t that they succeed in being cool but that they don’t even give a rat’s ass what cool is supposed to be. The heroes i’m talking about are not amazing people;  they’re ordinary people, like me or maybe even you, who do heroic things. They inspire you to believe in the hero hiding inside you. Plus, they always pay for your drinks. Invictus is kinda like that, except for the paying for your drinks part.

Most sports films are the story of individuals surpassing their limitations. Invictus is the story of a nation doing it.

You couldn’t swing a dead soldier in this movie without hitting something inspirational. Morgan Freeman’s portrayal of Nelson Mandela is inspiring. The story of how Mandela used the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa to unite that country’s different peoples is an inspiration. And Clint Eastwood’s directing is inspired, from the historical accuracy to the little surprises in predictable sequences, from the credible arena crowd shots to his varied camera use (TV news segments, dramatic tension, rugby action), Eastwood scored big here and proves, like wine i can’t afford, that he’s getting better with age.

There are only a couple stains in this picture. Like the music. He had his son Kyle brew some tunes and they came out like syrup: sticky sweet, slow and dragging the movie down. Apart from that, well, you know me. i’m a sensitive wuss and most of the film had me choked up like a beer belch that can’t decide which way it wants to go.  Still, like a player in a rugby match, Eastwood sometimes fumbled and went over the top; but even if his game strayed occasionally out of bounds, i still ended up having a ball.

Buzz Kills (Watch Out for Spoilers)

Sex: 1 Shot

Sure it wasn’t the point of the flick, but there was absolutely no sex in Invictus. At all. Makes you wonder how South Africans reproduce. At least there were a lot of South African babes…

Like Marguerite Wheatley (28) who plays Nerine, Francois Pienaar’s (Matt Damon) girlfriend (who he doesn’t sleep with because it’s South Africa and they apparently don’t do that kind of thing ‘down there’).
Then there’s Leleti Khumalo (39), who plays Mandela’s assistant, Mary.
Bonnie Henna as Zindzi:
Not to mention Refiloe Mpakanyane as Jessie the secretary.
As for the men, of course there was Matt Damon (39).
Clint’s son Scott Eastwood (23) has a small role of a key rugby player (like i can be bothered to look up the stupid name).
Drink: 2 Shots

You’ll find the best drink references below in the Slurred Speeches portion of my show.  Besides that, you have people drinking beer at home and in the bar while watching rugby. About as surprising as the ending.

Also, there was a scene at a formal reception and i’m guessing Eastwood used fake wine. The wine wasn’t the deep red of real wine or the luminous pink of rosé but instead that odd tinge that Crayola would call fake wine if they made a crayon of it.

Rock & Roll: -1 Shot

SUBTLY HIGHLIGHTED THE OBVIOUS A LOT OVER  AND OVER.

Slurred Speeches

In the locker room after a big loss, Team Captain Francois Pienaar  (Damon) takes a beer from a cooler and makes the following toast to his depressed teammates:

PIENAAR:  Everybody take a beer.
(This is an order.  The entire team takes a beer, including Pienaar.)
PIENAAR:  A toast ... (Pienaar cracks his beer, raises it up.  They all crack and raise their beers.)
PIENAAR:  ... to the taste of defeat.  Drink it.  Remember it.  And promise yourself never to taste it again.
(Pienaar takes one long swig --)
PIENAAR:  You're right.  It tastes like kuk.
(--tosses his beer against the wall, so that it ruptures.
Eighteen other beers rupture against the wall.  The dressing
room is awash with beer and foam -- and re-kindled passion.)

Here's the Beer Drinking Cheer the team chants in the bar while one of the players is drinking:

He's a Drunkard,
He's true blue,
He's a pisspot through and through.
He's a bastard so they say,
Tried to go to heaven,
But he went the other way.

During the Finals, Mandela is sitting beside the President of New Zealand and they have this exchange:

MANDELA (to NZ P.M.):  Perhaps we should make a small wager?
NEW ZEALAND P.M.:  All your gold, for all our sheep?
MANDELA:  I was thinking more along the lines of a case of wine.

Boring Technical Crap

Written by:

Anthony Peckham (screenplay)

John Carlin (book)

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Starring

Morgan Freeman: Nelson Mandela

Marguerite Wheatley – Nerine

Leleti Khumalo – Mary

Bonnie Henna – Zindzi

Refiloe Mpakanyane – Jessie

Matt Damon – Francois Pienaar

Scott Eastwood – Joel Stransky

Bottom Line

Like Pizza Night in The Bar None, this has something for everyone (though runts 15 and under will miss out on the historical significance).

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Al K Hall<br />
Functional Alcoholic Slurperson<br />
(No, REALLY. Google &amp;quot;Slurperson&amp;quot; if you don't believe me.)

Last updated: 2010-04-01 19:48:56 by user08

Super Marcey's Invictus Review

Rating: 3.5/5

Invictus is the true story of Nelson Mandela in his first term as President of South Africa, he decides one way to try and reunite the post-apartheid country by getting behind their Rugby team as South Africa hosts the 1995 World Cup. That is this film in a nut shell, and I actually do remember that rugby World Cup a little bit and I do remember hearing about Mandela and the South African team. I am not sure how much of this film is real, with films they always do make changes, but the story they do tell for the film is a strong one and it is rather up lifting and it really just makes you wonder, why can't we all just get along?


I am a huge fan of Clint Eastwood, both as an actor and as a film maker. For Invictus he is solely behind the camera, and this film really does feel like an Eastwood film. He takes his time to tell the story and set everything up, he his known for his slow burn style but everytime he always makes it work, and it is good as well. When there is a lot to say here, and a lot of set up, you really need to take the time to establish things, and Eastwood does it in such a way it always holds your interest and he makes you care about what is going on. He is such a great director, and this is not one of his best films but it certainly is a good one and something a little different. At times the pacing is a little off but for the most part it worked quite well, and I was really impressed with the impact of the actual rugby games. I am not a fan of rugby, not to say I don't like the sport, I just don't follow it. But I was definitely engrossed in the action, and when we get to the final game it is rather intense and really well shot and edited.


Who else was going to play Nelson Mandela other then Morgan Freeman? Probably the most predictable casting in history, I think we all knew one day he would play this role. But you know what, as predictable as it is, Morgan Freeman is perfect as Mandela. He looks the part and he played the part, while I think maybe the only weak spot was the accent was a little off, he did such a great job, and I just love Morgan Freeman. He is one of my all time favourite actors, and he really was a joy as Mandela. His supporting cast (the men who play his security ect) really brought their stuff to the table and they made it all work. With the sub story of the whites having to work with the blacks, they have their conflict but as time goes on they start to get along, it was actually quite believable. Matt Damon who is another favourite of mine, was really quite fantastic as François Pienaar the Captain of the South African rugby team. He nailed the South African accent perfectly, I think he might have actually outdone the accent Leonardo DiCaprio donned in Blood Diamond. He looked quite different too, he definitely bulked up for the role and had lighter hair. There are some definitely touch scenes between Damon and Morgan, and you really felt that their characters had quite a big respect for each other, and that definitely goes to show their talent.


This film really captured the time it was set and mood of that time, beautifully shot and some fantastic cinematography, for my anyway it all really drew me in. There is no doubt that Eastwood and Freeman make a good team, and they certainly made a good film. I really would highly recommend this, especially if you are fans of Eastwood, Freeman and Damon. It certainly has its moments, there are some really great scenes in the film. It is a longer film, while that might put people off, I say don't let it. There is a story here to be told and it needs the time to tell it. I was really impressed and I enjoyed this quite a lot, it definitely gets two strong thumbs up from me.
 

(Written on April 2nd 2010, first published at SuperMarcey.com)

Recommendations: Moon (Duncan Jones, 2009), Milk, Hurt Locker, The (Kathryn Bigelow, 2009)

Last updated: 2010-04-01 17:48:52 by SuperMarcey

Invictus: Movie Review

We really have to say that the timing of this film is just right for our country and why? Well, it is all about how an improbable leader solved an impossible problem by finding a whacked out solution to inspire his countrymen to band together. Sounds simple? No, when your country is literally torn in half by the effects of years and years of living with apartheid (which was a system of racial segregation used in South Africa by the Whites). Now we feel the movie's timing is perfect because we will have our national elections in May and the movie portrays the life of a great leader and how one man, with sincere disposition and willful perseverance, can change a nation in almost an instant. This should make people ponder a lot who to choose and vote for (or so we hope). Also it headlines Matt Damon and /</igspan id="IL_AD9"/>/igMorgan Freeman</span> which we think is a huge bonus. Read on to find out our verdict.
<span>
It is 1994 and Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) has just won the presidency. He now has a huge problem - his populace of <span id="IL_AD7">Blacks and Whites</span> are still widely divided due to the trauma of the apartheid era. The Whites fear that having a Black president will obviously lead to disaster - in short, they think it is a huge mistake. The Blacks on <span id="IL_AD8">the other hand</span> still hate the Whites who have oppressed them for years. This hatred has seeped in so deeply in their minds that they even hate their own national rugby team as they deemed it a symbol of apartheid. Mandela, with a stroke of genius (or even madness), decides to unite his country by pushing for the Springboks (the name of the South African rugby team) to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup. This won't be an easy task though as the Springboks, led by team captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon), are struggling to even score close against their opponents. Worse, the team only has a year left to improve before the World Cup begins.

For the movie, we can say it was so-so at best. "Invictus" was as effective as it was frustrating. We can say that it had a lot to do with how the movie was presented overall. For us, it just jumped around too much from scene to scene. There were times that we just felt that things were being rushed too much and given how much an important role plot development plays in drama - even more so in biographical films - as such, our rating for the film suffered a lot. Although as a sports film, it was spectacular - it had us grabbing our seats in suspense - wait for the the Rugby World Cup scenes and you will get what we mean. Overall, we still recommend "Invictus" but we just cannot get remove that nagging feeling that it should have been way better than the current finished product.

Rating: 3 and a half reels 

Why you should watch it:
- Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman were both outstanding</span>


- the rugby scenes were perfectly made - it made us feel like we were watching the real thing


Why you shouldn't watch it:
- there was a huge disconnection from scene to scene

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Recommendations:

Invictus

Starring:

Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon,

Director: Clint Eastwood

Genre: Biography, Drama

 Rated: PG-13

Nelson Mandela, having been recently released from prison utilizes the local rugby team and the world cup of rugby to help unite his nation.

Morgan Freeman stars as Nelson Mandela who after release from prison is elected as South Africa’s president. The country is still racially divided and Mandela hopes that by getting his country to win the World Cup of Rugby he can unite the people still racially divided, by having them all rally together to support the team.

Invictus is entertaining although it entertaining in the same way a special on the history channel is. The pace of the film is slow and although there’s ample time to create a bond with these people, it doesn’t feel like there is any reason besides common decency for the audience to connect with the characters. The film doesn’t have any of the typical sports clichés that make you wonder how they are going to pull off a victory, in this instance there is never any doubt this foregone conclusion detaches the viewer and pulls you further away. Invictus is a very dry, by the book retelling of the story, there is such a disconnected feel to it that it never pulls you in.

Sadly for me one of the biggest issues I had with the film was Freeman himself, He has reached the point in his career that every character he plays should be called Morgan Freeman. There isn’t a second in the film where you think to yourself this is Mandela, Instead you think how great it is that Morgan Freeman is uniting South Africa. Furthermore Mr. Freeman slips in and out of his accent while Matt Damon who plays Fancois Pienaar (the captain of the rugby team) is spot on with his accent the entire time only making Freemans that more obvious. Damon is stellar in his role given what screen time he has and hopefully will no longer ever have to be referred to in the same sentence as Ben Affleck again.

The title of the film comes from a poem by William Ernest Henley that Mandela read while in prison, If only the film had the emotional weight of the poem it could have risen above its documentary feel, and moved the audience like Mandela moved his nation.

 
 

Last updated: 2010-03-05 00:48:08 by user02

Invictus

"Invictus" is the latest film to be produced and directed by Clint Eastwood (who, generally speaking, makes great movies.) He is currently 79 and is still making unbelievable, quality films. "Invictus" stars Morgan Freeman - his third collaboration with Clint Eastwood ("Unforgiven and "Million Dollar Baby" were the first two). Matt Damon co-stars along with several other people you have probably never heard of in your life.

It's South Africa, circa 1995. Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman, if you couldn't guess) is finally out of prison and has been elected president of South Africa (for those who are completely unaware). As it turns out, Nelson Mandela is quite a huge fan of rugby and uses the 1995 World Cup as a way to unite his country after years of apartheid. Matt Damon plays Francois Pienarr, the captain of the rugby team.

Well, Morgan Freeman is in this movie, no lie. I love this man, mainly because he is an amazing actor. He apparently was born to play Nelson Mandela. It is both uncanny and ridiculous how seamlessly Morgan Freeman slipped into the role of leader and president of South Africa. His voice is fantastic, so of course, he narrates a little bit of this movie, which makes me, and I'm assuming most Americans, so happy. The inflection and power of his voice and acting, just in general, is fantastic. He has a great command of the screen. So I am guessing he will get an Oscar nomination because the Academy loves when great actors play real people. This isn't to say that Matt Damon isn't also great, because he is. He has great chemistry with Morgan Freeman. Over the years he has proven himself to be a versatile actor. Just watch "Invictus" and "The Informant!" from earlier this year and you will see the range that he possesses as an actor. He also puts on quite the South African accent in this movie. Both actors were perfect choices for the movie and added to my overall enjoyment.

I love cinematography in movies so I'll talk about that for a bit. Overall, there are some great shots in this movie, lots of tracking shots, close-ups as we see reactions from people, and aerial shots of buildings an such. Another really exciting thing for me is that Clint Eastwood and the cast and crew physically flew to South Africa while filming a movie that takes place...in South Africa! It's fantastic and the way things should be. We get a look at the poor areas of the country as well as some government buildings and the rugby stadium and such. All of this adds to the visual appeal of the movie. If you are going to watch a movie, it mind as well be great to look at. In that regard, Clint Eastwood came through once again. Yeah, I am kind of biased because I am a huge fan of that man and his movies, but whatever...Oh, and this doesn't have to do with cinematography, but I'll put it here anyway. This movie also has lots of African music on it's soundtrack (just in case you forget where it's set) and adds an authentic quality to "Invictus" and fits well in several scenes.

The movie as a whole is pretty powerful, which is great. Movies should always try to get an emotional response from the audience because otherwise there really is no point in spending the 6-12 bucks to see it in theaters or spend over 2 hours watching it. It's amazing that Nelson Mandela was able to forgive the people who imprisoned him for 27 years and become president of South Africa. That strong leadership quality and immense positive character is incredibly present in this film. Also present is the idea that a country can be unified even after years of terrible turmoil.

In case you don't know, I loved this movie. I thought it was very well made/acted/etc. There were a couple things that kept me from giving it a perfect rating. It is a little too long. The last scene in particular where they are in the rugby playoffs feels a little drawn out, especially for those like me, who are really confused by rugby to begin with. Also, in the last scene some slow motion is used and it just seems too cliché and cheesy for a movie of such high quality. A couple characters annoyed me as well - like Francois' girlfriend and one of the women that works for Nelson Mandela. Also, its kind of hard to explain, I guess you have to see it, but a couple scenes seemed like they switched too quickly and the editing just didn't feel completely natural and fluid.

Clint Eastwood follows last year's "Changeling" and "Gran Torino," with "Invictus." Eastwood's latest movie is pretty powerful and boasts great performances by its two leads. It also looks fantastic. It is definitely going to be getting some Oscar recognition, or at least nominations. It would have been even better if it were edited down slightly and if the feel of the ending was more realistic. 3 1/2 out of 4 stars...I would recommend it to fans of Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, or well-made movies in general. I think most people would be impressed by this movie...or at least enjoy it.

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Invictus: Rugby Diplomacy

True Confessions: The Movie Slut does not kiss the ground Clint Eastwood walks on. Don't get her going on Million Dollar Baby, a movie as subtle as Lady Gaga's getups.

So here we have Clint giving us the story of Nelson Mandela, South Africa's first post-apartheid leader, as he struggles to unite his country after decades of corrosive racial division.

How did Clint do?

Well, Mandela did better. Still, Invictus isn't an all-out dud. After a stiff, uninspired beginning, the movie heats up to captivate viewers at the end.

Mandela hits on the brilliant scheme to have the South African rugby team do the diplomatic work. Matt Damon is superb as the team captain with top-notch leadership skills of his own. (He also nailed the South African accent, something that eluded Morgan Freeman as Mandela.)

The Movie Slut was confused by some poor musical choices until the credits revealed the cloying tunes were composed by Clint & family. As for the name of the film, she had to Google Invictus to learn it's the Victorian poem that comforted Mandela during his 27 years in prison.

Look for Oscar nominations galore. Maybe even a few wins. The Movie Slut is alone in her coolness for Clint.

See you at the movies, The Movie Slut

Invictus

The man! The legend! Clint Eastwood returns to make a Nelson Mandela movie with Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon! This has gotta be a great film guaranteed... Well not so much.



Invictus is about the first term of Nelson Mandela who initiates a unique venture to unite the apartheid-torn South Africa by enlisting the help of Francois Pienaar and the national rugby team on a mission to win the 1995 Rugby World Cup.



Really, the more I think about it.. I get the feeling that Clint Eastwood is only good at directing movies where there's lotso guns in it. With the exception of Million Dollar Baby, all his other "peace and love" films are just okay. But the films that are really great are those where there's characters carrying big ass guns like Gran Torino, Letters From Iwo Jima, Mystic River and Unforgiven. Just a thought is all.



And how amazing was Morgan Freeman in this playing Nelson Mandela? Every time I watch this man, one thing kept popping in my head- Ben Kingsley from Gandhi. Morgan Freeman's performance was right up there with Ben Kingsley's Gandhi. And yeah, Ben Kingsley did nail his character much better but Morgan Freeman was still equally spectacular.



But I really don't see much of a point of having the character Nelson Mandela in this movie, because Invictus was not a biographical film. Invictus was a sports film. The movie is more centred around Matt Damon and the rugby team winning the World Cup and every now and then we just get Nelson Mandela coming in and being a cheerleader for them. I found myself more drawn to the story of the rugby team and less interested in Mandela cause he's really not doing that much besides shaking peoples' hands and saying, "Good luck."



Eastwood should have made it very clear what the main focus of the film was. And with the material he had in Invictus, he could have made two great companion pieces like he did with Letters From Iwo Jima and Flags of Our Fathers. He could have done one film that is a biographical movie of Nelson Mandela and knock it out of the park like the Gandhi movie. And then have another movie where it's about Matt Damon and the rugby team being inspired by Mandela to win the World Cup.



Putting these two stories just cluttered up the film too much and made it one hella long movie that goes back and forth between Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman. But I gotta admit, the film did balance itself really well and I wasn't bored at all throughout the whole movie.



Oh and by the way, that Matt Damon guy looks like a freaking tank in this film. I mean the dude was fucking huge. And not The Informant! kind of huge, I mean like Jason Bourne on steroids huge. There's one scene where he's going jogging and he comes towards the screen and I thought Matt Damon was going to bulldoze me. But wow was he great in this to. I'm not familiar with South African accents but I thought his speech pattern was pretty darn good and he never breaks character throughout the film.



The score of the film is really magnificent. It reminded me so much of the Broadway soundtrack of The Lion King where it just celebrates the beauty of African music and haunting tribal chants. And a nice surprise was when I found out the guy who did the score is actually Clint Eastwood's son. Damn a father son tag team in a Mandela movie.. Awesome!



Really there's so much I like about Invictus but at the same time the only thing holding this movie back from being an 8/10 is the damn plot. It was way too convulated and jumps back and forth between a biography movie and a sports underdog film.

RATING: 6/10

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NicholasC

INVICTUS

Invictus tells the story of Nelson Mandela, not long after being released from his 27 years in prison.  Wait, did I just say it tells the story of Nelson Mandela?  It really doesn’t.  It tells of how he rallied around South Africa’s rugby team in hopes of uniting the blacks and whites together post-apartheid.  The movie doesn’t really say anything about who Mandela is or what political standings he takes.  Sure, he wants to unite his people and end racism, but what actions does he want to take while in office?  Invictus will not help those who don’t know much about Mandela learn anything about him.
Morgan Freeman plays Mandela and Matt Damon plays the captain of the rugby team.  Their acting is fine but there is not much for the actors to do since there really isn’t an intriguing story here.  Clint Eastwood has directed some great movies in the last 10 years but this is probably the worst film he’s made out of all that I’ve seen from him.  I love Freeman and had higher hopes for this film, so it is quite a letdown.
It would have been interesting to see what happened after the rugby team’s run towards the World Cup.  Did the people of South Africa start to get along better?  Did racism really decline?  All we get to see is Mandela following each game the team plays.  He might as well be one of those big sports fans with a giant foam finger on his hand, not the president of a country.  There are no politics in this film at all.  We just see a peaceful old man with good intentions.  Supposedly,  the reason for his arrest was that he advocated violence and acts of sabotage against the ruling white majority of South Africa.  He certainly wasn’t always a man of peace if this is true.  Wouldn’t this have made a much more fascinating story?  I would like to learn of his earlier struggles, and then maybe what he learned all that time in prison.  All we get here is a man following rugby.  Not to mention, most Americans have no clue about how to play rugby and will be completely lost in the final rugby scene which is supposed to be a big climactic moment.  Others I’ve spoken to who have seen this film had no idea what was going on in that game either.  Did Eastwood think about that at all, or consider trying to explain the game so it would be easier to follow?  I really can’t recommend this movie to anyone who is not a big fan of rugby.

Recommendations: The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Se7en , 25th Hour

http://www.examiner.com/movie-in-philadelphia/danny-porcaro

Invictus - **1/2

Directed by:  Clint Eastwood

Starring:  Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon

Review:  This movie was well made and well acted but ultimately fell short of what I thought it could have been.  Walking out of the movie, the phrase that popped into my head about this movie was that it's "reach exceeded it's grasp."  The movie had lofty aspirations and started along the road of being a politically charged message movie but ended up falling short of that goal.

The movie centers around the election the end of apartheide in South Africa and the subsequent election of Nelson Mandela as president.  After apartheide was abolished, the country was in a state of civil unrest as those that were being discriminated against now had a new sense of empowerment, and those that discriminating were afraid of what the future held for their country.  These peoples' fear was further exacerbated by Mandela being elected president after his 26 year tenure in prison. 

Now I am not all that familiar with Nelson Mandela, besides what I learned in school, but it seems to me that Morgan Freeman does a pretty good job of showing this man's true love for his country and for the freedom and equality of his people, while still showing the imperfections that this man has just the like the rest of us. 

The main force behind the movie involves Mandela's critical move to try to help the South African rugby team win the rugby World Cup in an attempt to unite the country.  In order to do this he taps the rugby team caption Francois, who is hesitant at first about his idea.  After visiting kids around South Africa in an attempt to spike interest in the sport, Francois begins to see how winning this tournament could unite the country.

Damon's performance as the rugby team captain is understated and suited for the role.  His transformation from someone who is tepid at first, but begins to see the bigger picture is very evident and well done.

The first half of the movie centers mostly around Mandela and his attempt to win over the part of his country that is against him.  Getting two sides that have been apart for so long to work together is a challenging task and the challenge is displayed well in this movie.  The movie does a good job of showing how the small steps taken by few can have a large impact on the unification of the nation. 

However, where the movie ultimately fails is in taking this road and framing the challenge ahead of Mandela but then eventually abandoning that path for a more sports oriented movie.  The second half of the movie switches towards more of a "Miracle" type sports movie, about how the country gets behind the sports team, but doesn't seem to outline as much how this event unites the country.  The people of the nation take a great interest in the rugby team and join together in rooting for the team, but this has been done before, this has happened before.  I understand that this is most likely the starting point of getting the country united, but the movie seems to build it up as the defining event that completely unites the country, and that is not the case, it is merely the beginning.  This is the only issue I had with the movie but it is a rather large one and I think the movie could have been structured differently to allow the path it was taking in the first half to continue throughout the movie.

What cannot be shortchanged is the great acting and directing that this movie had though, as always for all people involved, it was all top notch.

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Invictus

I grew up idolizing Clint Eastwood for he is my favorite actor and I thought the man could and still do no wrong. His acting career has been rich and varied and when he started directing back in the early 70's he made some interesting and well done films. Now in the past decade he has made some outstanding and fascinating movies and everything he directs has been amazing. The man is hitting 80 and he still directs film after film and they have all been winners. He is on quite a roll and that continues with another winner in "Invictus". This is a rousing, inspirational and crowd pleasing movie. The movie starts out with Nelson Mandela being released from prison in 1990 and follows his new presidency as Apartheid had vanished. Nelson Mandela is played by Morgan Freeman and it is no surprise that he is outstanding and perfectly cast as Mandela. It is a beautiful, grounded performance that is subtle and affecting. The movie does not cover the whole life of Mandela but wisely narrows it's focus on one event. That is the journey of the South African Rugby team and it's goal to win the World Cup. Mandela feels this will unite South Africa after Apartheid has torn it apart a bit. He visits the team's Captain to try to inspire him to get his woeful team back on track. Matt Damon plays the Captain and he gives another sturdy performance. His accent is perfect and with his performance in "The Informant" he is having another great year becoming one of our finest actors. The movie wisely focuses on Mandela though because his is the character that sets everything in motion. This is Freeman's movie and he is sure to get an Oscar nomination for his performance. The Rugby scenes are well directed and if you don't know anything about Rugby you will learn a lot here. Eastwood has made an inspiring movie that will get people cheering. Everything is well done but the reason I think it is not a great movie is that there are really no surprises or anything that will stay with you for days. It is just a well made and crowd pleasing movie with great performances and another solid Clint Eastwood movie.

Vincent Snavely

Invictus

     I was anxiously awaiting this one.  It had all the right elements to be great: a truly incredible, true story, Clint Eastwood directing, and Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon starring.  It's also a sports story about rugby, but, nothing's perfect.
 
     "Invictus" is the true story about how a newly elected Nelson Mandela tried to bring some unity to a fractured South Africa by promoting the national rugby team, who were hated by native Africans and loved by the white Afrikaners, and pushing them to win the World Cup.  Morgan Freeman delivers a stellar and convincing performance as Mandela.  Matt Damon co stars as the captain of the South African Springboks, (Spring Buck) François Pienaar, a man who realizes that his team can overcome its image of a hated symbol of apartheid and can help to unite and build a new South Africa. 
 
     I think Eastwood milked the ending tension a bit with the slow motion grunting and multiple cutaways, but other than that, "Invictus" is a truly great film.  It manages to tell a story happening amidst great social turmoil and in a land of incredible racial hatred and injustice without bludgeoning you to death that fact.  Instead, "Invictus" is about finding the inner strength to accomplish what must be done, no matter how difficult the task, its about being the 'captain of' your 'unconquerable soul,' it's about what motivates people to achieve greatness and where leaders find the inspiration to lead.  Mandela manages to find strength in a poem, and he instills that strength in François who leads him team to greatness and inspires them to achieve for a greater cause than just rugby. 
 
     Even if you don't like sports movies, and I generally don't, "Invictus" is an inspirational true story that is well worth seeing.

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Brian
Ciné Critique Américain

Invictus

Having now seen this movie, its has become my favorite thing about this year's Oscar Nominations that this movie didn't make best picture. Something like this is usually in there, a movie that in all regards either sucks or in preferable cases is just plain average. But by piggybacking on worthy real life subject matter they deny truly great films from receiving recognition and despite nobody really liking them are mentioned as this year's best films. Invictus is almost the definitive of this kind of film, more then I even thought was possible. Its so thoroughly unimpressive and unspectacular, that even with the spectre of supposed value, I can't really see how it could do anything but underwhelm.

The trailer told you the story going in, which is basically the recently freed and now president of South Africa Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman), trying to reunite his racially fractured nation, where the blacks hate the whites (mostly due to a hundred years or so of repression) and the whites hate them in kind, by garnering national support of the Springbok rugby team captained by Francois Pienaar who suddenly looks very much like Matt Damon. The plan being if they win the world cup, it will bring both races together in patriotic joy. What's all the more galling here, is that this is a story that is quite inspiring in theory but its handled with such indifference by director Clint Eastwood, who before this film was very slowly winning me round as a director, but here he just presents the material with no real investment in it. It doesn't help that the dialogue, particularly Mandela's, is so portentously speechified. We get Mandela is an important and great man, but it's kind of silly to have every word he says sound like part of a nobel prize speech. It's distancing and fake, and prevents Morgan Freeman from making the character anything more then a point of reference for history and rugby fans. Having said that, I do think Freeman gave it his best here, and the usual wisdom and kindliness is present and correct. Its just not enough to save the movie from its lazy, undercooked self. Matt Damon, who I can only assume took this role because he knew it was guaranteed award recognition no matter what, is OK and doesn't do anything all that wrong, but its a dull character on the page and that shows. I like the guy but the fact that he got Oscar nominated for this of all things is, simply put, silly.

Its a veiled sports movie at its core though and judged by that tent-pole it comes up similarly short. The rugby sequences are repetitive and dull, and even a few slow motion camera tricks don't help. Just as when America tries to make films about football, there's a clear misunderstanding of the game and more importantly what makes it exciting. And its treatment of it sums up the movie itself. Uninspiring cinema about inspiring reality. But more importantly, running at nearly three hours, just too fucking boring.

Rating: 5/10

Invictus (Movie Review)

Invictus is based on the book, Playing The Enemy: Nelson Mandela And The Game That Changed a Nation, by John Carlin. Directed by Clint Eastwood (screenplay by Anthony Peckham), Invictus was recommended to me as a must-see movie. So, based on that recommendation and Clint Eastwood’s track record as a filmmaker, I decided to see it. I was expecting some treacle, “ kumbayah” film, but I was very wrong and thankfully so. Invictus has a compelling story to tell, is well-acted, and the rugby games are absolutely great!

As recently elected President Mandela, Morgan Freeman literally embodies the role. Early in his first-term, against the advice of his closest advisors, Mandela decides to use the South African rugby team, the Springboks, and the 1995 Rugby World Cup as something around which the entire country can unite, regardless of race. He enlists the assistance of team captain,  François Pienaar (well-played by Matt Damon), who helps motivate his underdog South African team.

I admit that I know nothing about rugby, so I don’t know how well-cast the actors are, but the games are extremely entertaining and have a new fan in me. Far more exciting than soccer, it’s more like American football but without the padding, helmets or even long pants.

Invictus is not ground-breaking filmmaking, but its actors tell the little-know story well.

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Last updated: 2010-01-22 06:46:55 by jfuchsman

Invictus

Last updated: 2010-01-18 14:46:23 by malikaziz