Invictus

My Rating: 3/4

If there was, is, or ever will be a film hall of fame, Morgan Freeman should be in it. Never in my life have I ever seen him give anything less than an exceptional performance. And that quality about him truly shines in his new film "Invictus". This is a true story about Nelson Mandela. Mandela was a prisoner on Robben Island, South Africa until he was released from prison and became the president. Only to be faced with the challenge of bringing the country up to greatness seeing the turmoil it is in. The best way at the time to him was to get their very untalented Rugby team, the "Springboks" to win the world cup so they can"be a shining light in the world". The film is perfectly cast. Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela and Matt Damon( who also gives a very good performance) as Francois Pienaar, captain of the Springboks. The best thing in this film is the acting. All performances are powerful and believable and help build upon a strong film. It is not boring to those who will bother to pay attention. But you will probably be bored if you half pay attention while doing something else. But I really thought that the film makers kept the politic-y stuff to a minimum as to keep the audience from drifting off(no offense Obama). And above all, it kept the experience fresh. The film also does a good job of showing you how they must balance "black aspirations with white fears" as they called it in the film. Because when I said the country was in "turmoil", I mean racial hatred, riots, poverty, and all other negative uproar you can think of. The soundtrack was excellent. Mainly using African folk songs that you may even find yourself humming throughout the rest of the day. It serves as a great accompaniment to the characters and events. Another thing I noticed was that Mandela, even though he'd been imprisoned for almost 30 years, came out of that prison a very wise man. He makes decisions that all of his co-workers think are very strange. But in the end, you see that they all serve a great purpose. And Mandela knows it(although only his black co-workers call him "Madiba"). You can also see the growth of the Rugby team throughout the film as well as their lessons learned from Mandela as he begins working with them to win both the world cup and the hearts of 43 million South Africans. But, what I didn't like was that there could have been a little more excitement. Just be a little less Dull. I felt something was missing. And that something destroyed star #5. But overall, I had an inspiring experience and saw some great acting which combined to deliver an amazing story. For those of you who don't judge a book by it's cover, I definitely recommend "Invictus".

Starring: Morgan Freeman Director: Clint Eastwood
Matt Damon