Unstoppable

Wow! Great story about an amazing wrestler who had to overcome so much in life! This may replace Vision Quest as my favorite wrestling movie! To see what he overcame with training for wrestling is mind blowing in such a tough sport that requires a lot of Stamina. I remember watching both finals matches of his in 2010 and 2011. This movie provides some great motivation on never giving up, especially when things get rough. I feel that they casted Anthony Robles well with their selected actor. Don Cheadle is always amazing in his roles. I'm not a J-Lo fan, but she played her role well. This is a movie that I can watch over and over!

Anthony Robles is a wrestler with ambitions to reach the top of the American collegiate championships. That's going to be more of a challenge for him than most as he only has one leg, but this is not a man who is going to shy away from that challenge. It's a competent Jharrel Jerome who plays him for the dramatic elements of the story whilst it's the man himself doing the far more energetic wrestling aspects and the unremarkalble Jennifer Lopez simply fails to shine at all as his mother, caught up in a torrid relationship. When this drama focusses on the sheer passion of this man and his determination to succeed, it works well enough, but it spends far too much time on the familial discord aspects of their lives. Sure, these are contributory factors to the remarkable nature of his achievements, but they drag the pace down and soak us in a melodrama that rather takes from the potency of a story that's well worth the telling. Michael Peña delivers better as his no-nonsense but ultimately motivational coach and the action photography really does give us a sense of the effort and hard work required by Robles to prove to his peers and himself that he had what it takes to reach the top in a very competitive sport where he would be given no quarter. Personally, I'd have preferred a documentary to this drama as Robles himself is the star and the others really just clutter up the story with their over-scripted dialogue and sentimentality. I did quite like the intimate nature of the photography during the action scenes. A bit juddery at times, but it made the action on the mat all the more visceral for a character who lived and breathed his sport. It just goes to show what can be achieved when the attitude is positive and the support structure is there to facilitate that.

Based on the true story of wrestler Anthony Robles whose goal is to become Nationals Champion despite his disability. The film stars Jharrel Jerome as Anthony Robles. Jennifer Lopez plays his Mom Judy. Don Cheadle is his college wrestling coach Shawn Charles. The performance by Jerome and Cheadle were excellent. The rest of the cast were just average to be honest including Jennifer Lopez. I found this film about an inspiring story less than inspiring due to the lack of emotion I felt. A film like this should make you want to stand up and cheer and maybe go out and do some crunches or run around the block. You know like one of the Rocky films or Hoosiers or Vision Quest. A training.montage with great music would have helped. While it's not a bad film it's far from great.

When - 12:10 PM Where - Amazon Prime With Who - Myself

First Thoughts - There are really solid performances throughout, even from JLo. Jharrel Jerome is definitely an up-and-coming actor to keep an eye on moving forward. His ability to play emotions across his face and with his eyes without uttering a word isn't something that can be taught. Don Cheadle and Michael Pena play Jharrel's coaches in college and high school, respectively, adding a warm father figure presence to the movie that Bobby Cannavale's stepfather character Rick Robles lacks.

The wrestling scenes are well choreographed and not only feel real but through camerawork and editing, help to place the audience in the matches. Speaking of camerawork, that was a point of frustration for me because it felt uneven throughout the movie. There were moments where the cinematography was sharp and looked good and it used some interesting shots, such as shooting beneath the wrestling match scenes as if the camera were the wrestling mat. And then there would be other scenes where the camera was unsteady for no reason and it pulled me out of the film. The color grading during the first third of the movie also felt amateurish, further driving home the cheap feel of the cinematography.

Despite these issues, overall this was a good sports movie that kept my attention the entire runtime.

Full Review -

Unstoppable In recent years, I've felt myself grow cynical toward the sports movie sub genre. The cliches and tropes that can be found in nearly every entry into said sub genre have become so uninspired and boring. That being said, I went into Unstoppable with an open mind because having lived a third of my life in Arizona and with both of my brothers-in-law were wrestlers, I had a deeply personal connection to Anthony Robles' story.

I'm happy to say that not only was I not disappointed, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Firstly, every performance given here was solid, particularly from Jharrel Jerome as Anthony Robles. His ability to portray the wide range of emotions his character is feeling through his physical acting abilities is impressive, especially for such a young actor. Michael Peña and Don Cheadle play his high school and college coaches, respectively. They bring a driving, fatherly presence to film, something that contrasts drastically to Anthony's abusive stepfather, played to an uncomfortable degree by Bobby Cannavale. Even Jennifer Lopez, whose acting chops are debatable, does a stellar job in the movie, portraying Anthony's strong willed, loving mother.

On the technical side of things, the soundtrack is well cultivated for the time period, the late 2000's - early 2010's, to further immerse the audience in the story while also highlighting the emotions being expressed in each scene.

The editing, especially during the wrestling matches, was also well done. Fast-paced but also not afraid to hold certain shots for maximum impact, it keeps the audience's attention but doesn't give them a headache with a bunch of fast cuts.

My biggest issue was the cinematography and how uneven it felt during the runtime of the film. During the first act, the camerawork is shaky for no reason, and the color grading makes it appear amateurish. It does improve as the movie goes on, with some really cool shots during the wrestling matches coming from beneath the actual matches.

Overall, despite some stereotypical cliches found within, the deep heart found here helps to look past those issues.

What are your thoughts on the film?

The movie is good on its own. But feels a lot like numerous other inspiring sports movies. This one feels a lot like 1993's Rudy, even having a scene where the team rally around the main character staying on the team. It wears its numerous inspirations on its sleeve, including numerous references to Rocky.

The first half of the movie is rushed and kind of dull as it speeds through the events of his life. It goes through things so quickly that it lacks emotion. It's the second half that picks up and makes it worth it. This is when we really see him wrestling and focuses on a rival to defeat. It's the finale that really makes the movie worthwhile, making it just as tense and nail biting at Rocky or The Karate Kid.

The effects to make Jharrel Jerome appear to have one leg is really convincing and Jerome pulls it off. He's good when focusing on the wrestling aspect of the movie, with the real Anthony Robles standing in during certain shots. But he's not so good at the interpersonal drama, with his serious face often looking more confused. The rest of the cast are all good. Jennifer Lopez, Michael Pena, and Don Cheadle all give their usual terrific performances.

Real life sport biopics are inspiring and all, but they need to find a story that is more than just another Rocky or Cool Runnings.