Has some editing issues but Invictus is overall an inspiring and well-made film with surprisingly subtlety. Continuing what The Blind Side accomplished (at least to me), Clint Eastwood manages to make this film without beating the audience over the head with its message. Morgan Freeman is wonderful and injects the movie with his usual dose of quiet dignity, while Matt Damon is good despite having quite little to do. I don't see this winning many Oscars but it will definitely be in the running for some nominations in the major categories. B+

imo it strongly parallels the story of avatar using black people as a metaphor for the struggle of the blue people

Hmm, more Avatar-related spamming in compltely non-Avatar-related threads and I'll be deleting the posts.

Thank you very much.

Für solch beschissene Beiträge würde ich dir mit Freude die Augen aus dem Kopf rumpfen.

Invictus is a terrific film. Clint Eastwood's direction is sure-handed (the rugby sequences are taut and, even for this novice, easy to follow) and Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon deliver convincing, memorable performances.

Very moving and 100% recommended.

A

C

last 50 minutes were mind numbingly boring

One big bore. I suppose it could've worked as a sappy sports drama if anyone knew how the fuck rugby was played.

Eastwood's directing is almost legendarily bad, too. Is there a reason the entire final match needed to be in slo mo? All it does it stretch the film on a whole helluva lot longer than it needed to.

And what was with the fucking awful music selections? My god.

It's Miracle, just with Nelson Mandela. I liked it, though I agree with Trixster on the song selections. There were a couple of odd choices in there, especially the one that plays right before Mandela lands in his helicopter to meet with the team on the practice field.

***

A pathetic documentary. ~ 4/10.

One of the most under-rated films of 2009.


18 out of 5.

Miracle is actually better than this (well, Miracle is quite good).

B


Incivtus might not be one of the highlights of Eastwood's directing career, but it is still a solid effort from a skilled director. I suppose what was disappointing about it is how mundane it is and how blandly it was filmed considering the fact how great the story is it is telling. The rugby scenes are the only scenes in the film which are quite well-filmed and are somewhat exciting.

The film#s true strength lies in Morgan freeman's terrific performance as Nelson Mandela. I know many weren't quite fond of his turn, but I think that he easily deserved that Oscar nomination. He was not the best in that year, but definitely among the best. I would also count this turn as one of the finest in his very long career. Matt Damon, on the other hand, did not leave any lasting impression at all which is why I am struggling to understand his nomination. He just plays it very much by the numbers. His only really good scene is in Mandela's former prison cell. Other than that, he's just a stock character. His performance in The Informant! that year was much better (albeit the film itself was worse).