INVICTUS

The Guy's whatever...

I've talked about Clint and how much I adore him when I reviewed "Unforgiven" (which is probably one of his greatest works to date). Now at an older age he has turned to different types of dramas. This time he helps out his buddy Morgan Freeman with this Mandela project. This is probably, and I'm speculating here, the reason that the movie wasn't as good as his other later works. It wasn't his film - it was somebody else's. Sure, the story is interesting and everything, but it felt like it missed some heart.

I follow sports but I've never been that into rugby so this could also be a reason that this movie didn't speak to me. Don't get me wrong this movie isn't just about rugby, it's also about how a simple man got a split country to reunite... but mostly it feels like it's about rugby.

Freeman as Mandela, hmmm... If I can be honest and I can because this is my blog (and Girl's), he can only play himself - there was no Nelson Mandela aura coming through at all. This brought the movie down a little bit more. Then what brought it up? Well, Damon did, who seems to be getting better and better at his craft by the minute.

Clint might be getting old but he can still put together a great movie. I'm not saying by any means that he should retire. I'm saying that he should pick his own projects and keep away from people that ask him for favors (again, speculating).

Guy's Rating: I can't with a clear conscious recommend this movie to Eastwood fans out there.

Girl's view...

Pretty much ditto Guy's, but with more emphasis on the boring.

Morgan Freeman was cute, in his old-man way, but nothing spectacular came from his performance.

Matt Damon was fine as a South-African rugby star, but again, his character had nothing outside the conventional dramatic moments in any sport star's career - moments of norm, moments of failure and moments of inspiration/celebration.

I can't even remember any other characters of note.

This is a pretty sad collection of points for a story surrounding such a figure as Nelson Mandela. Hopefully, someone will make a better movie about him in the future.

Girl's Rating: Meh. Don't waste the money.