Eddie The Eagle
Dir: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Jo Hartley, Keith
Allen, Iris Berben, Jim Broadbent, and Christopher Walken
105
Minutes
20th Century Fox
The 1988 Winter Olympics in
Calgary made a overnight superstar out of Michael “Eddie” Edwards, a British ski jumper well out of his
league but undeterred in his efforts to become an Olympian. This underdog story
is a familiar one, the odds are stacked high as usual and the obstacles come
one right after another. However, unlike some other cinematic sports stories, Eddie’s success doesn’t come from his excellent
athletic prowess but rather his determination to never giving up, in fact Eddie’s performance in the
Winter Olympics was far from a display of excellence. That puts “Eddie the Eagle” in the category of
sports films like “Rudy” or “Cool Runnings”, the later being another film inspired from
real events at the 1988 Winter Games. The producing team behind last years
pleasant surprise “Kingsman: The Secret Service” bring a satisfying charm peaked with feel-good
moments to “Eddie
the Eagle”.
Eddie (Taron Egerton) has
always wanted to be an Olympian. From an early age, overcoming the obstacle of
having leg braces, Eddie tried numerous sports looking for the one that would
take him to the Olympics, his box of broken eyeglasses will tell you just how
many times he tried and failed at a sport. Still, Eddie will not be swayed by
anyone even his parents. Eddie’s father (Keith Allen) wants him to follow in
the family business while his mother (Jo Hartley) is more understanding of his
dream. Opportunity comes in the form of loophole, as Great Britain doesn’t have an Olympic ski
jumper, making Eddie a default choice.
There are no surprises
here, absolutely none. You’ve seen this kind of film many times, in many different forms. However,
this doesn’t
make the film any less charming. One of the main reasons for this quality is
the choice of cast, specifically the two lead characters of Eddie and his coach
Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman). Taron Egerton gives a spot-on performance as
Eddie partly because of the uncanny resemblance the actor has with the real
character but also because Mr. Egerton embraces the defining motivation of
Eddie, a mantra that proclaims that winning isn’t everything. Hugh Jackman composes the struggling
Bronson Peary with variations of other tough yet sentimental characters he has
played before; it fits and works quite well here. At first the mentoring
character has a “Wolverine” type attitude, stiff drink and all. But slowly it turns into one of
renewal, a second chance for a disgraced athlete to help someone reach the goal
he never could. Mr. Jackman brings an enthusiastic and earnest quality to the
character, while also building great chemistry with Mr. Egerton.
Things fall into place
fairly quickly, familiarity taking over to an extent that the film doesn’t quite build towards the
dramatic climax or maintain the suspense that it should. Throughout the film
the lack of originality in telling this sports story stalls the film in a few
moments. However, director Dexter Fletcher keeps pushing the easy-going
attributes in a way that makes you wholly aware of what is coming but somehow
keeps you engaged in the story if only to see if the writers decided to succumb
to their structure and provide Eddie with the heroic Olympian ending. Again,
nothing is new here.
“Eddie
the Eagle” can
be an uplifting film in moments, especially when Eddie is soaring through the
air on course with either a bone shattering crash or landing with complete
control. Who would have thought that a
film filled with clichés, about a character who finishes in last place, would evoke cheers from
an audience? Well, at the screening that I went to this film did. It proves
that a great character can go along way.
Monte’s Rating
3.50 out of 5.00
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