R. I. P. Nelson Mandela

Initially, I had another movie review ready to roll in this spot. However, when I heard the news of the passing of a truly great man, Nelson Mandela, I had to say something, regardless of whether he is associated with the world of movies or not. The fact that I called him great should suffice. He is one of those people who truly made the world a better place to live.

His own words sum up the man better than I could write here, so I'll let him have his say. Shortly after the world heard of Mandela's passing The USA Today listed what they think are his 15 best quotes and ranked this one number one:

"Difficulties break some men but make others. No axe is sharp enough to cut the soul of a sinner who keeps on trying, one armed with the hope that he will rise even in the end."

I agree with both the USA Today's sentiment and his.

If you must read a movie review then click here to read my review of Invictus, a film in which Morgan Freeman plays the South African leader.

Thank you Mr. Mandela, for all you have done.

Invictus

Directed by Clint Eastwood.

2009. Rated PG-13, 133 minutes.
Cast:
Morgan Freeman
Matt Damon
Tony Kgoroge
Patrick Mofokeng
Matt Stern
Julian Lewis Jones
Marguerite Wheatley
Patrick Lyster
McNeil Hendricks

Newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela (Freeman) attempts to use the country’s rugby team to forge national unity in the days shortly after apartheid has ended; based on a true story.

Once again, Clint Eastwood proves you don’t need extensive fireworks to keep the audience engaged. He gives us his normal patient storytelling. Though nothing much happens in the way of action until the big game at the end, we don’t get bored. Instead, we’re fascinated by the picture being painted before us. It helps that Morgan Freeman turns in a splendid performance as Mandela. In him, we see a leader doing what he thinks is best for his country despite the fact he’s alone in his thinking.

There is no shortage of sports movie clichés. Long story short, and I don’t think I’m really spoiling anything here: an underdog team gets their act together. Think of all the movies you’ve already seen with that theme and you get the idea. It also gets to be repetitive. The typical cycle goes something like this: we see some dissention or doubt cast on what Mandela’s doing. Somehow word gets back to him and he pops up wherever the problem is and says a few magic words and everyone falls in line.

It’s a movie that manages to be good in spite of itself. Genre clichés and Mandela’s almost mystical presence threatens to overwhelm, but they never quite ruin things. It just becomes precisely what it wants to be, a feel good movie. This means that while there are reasons to knock it, it eventually wins you over.

MY SCORE: 7/10