Unstoppable

This movie tells the true story of Anthony Robles, born without a right leg, from Mesa, Arizona. He was raised by his mother who encouraged him to stand tall and be himself in spite of his handicap. Constantly pushing himself to be better and overcome his handicap, he discovered a passion for wrestling in high school. Striving to excel he rises up to become a force to be reckoned with on the mat, in spite of the struggles of his life.

There are a few scenes where Anthony is in Philadelphia and climbs the same steps as Rocky, and stands in Rocky's footsteps. I found myself rooting hard for Anthony Robles, not wanting to see him fail. But when he did, hoping he would get back up and fight harder. And when he did, cheering him on with every fiber of my being...GO ANTHONY GO!!!!

The Movie is based on Anthony's 2012 Autobiography Unstoppable. It is a great movie, some of my favorite themes rolled into one fantastic feel good movie. The underdog coming out on top against seemingly insurmountable odds, and an Incredible True Story. I love the True Story Movies the best, and I love this one.

Anthony Robles was born with one leg. With the support of his mother Judy Robles (Jennifer Lopez), he becomes a champion wrestling as a high school student. He still does not get an invitation from the major colleges especially his dream school Arizona State.

This is a biopic of American wrestler Anthony Robles. Apparently, he's playing himself in some of the wrestling. At its core, it is the very standard inspirational sports movie. The family story has some interesting darkness. JLo is mostly doing good. I have a slight problem with one of her big emotional talk, but it's a minor issue. This is generally very good.

This movie did not just dive into the true life story of an individual, This film found a way into my heart. This movie has an extra special standout role with Jennifer Lopez. Her performing seems to be award-worthy. When the right cast comes together and you have a director who understands the message of the movie there's truly no denying that this movie shows that movie telling should be about stories not just about special effects. A Movie should be about storytelling and this truly tells a great story. I would recommend anyone to watch this movie because it shows that with determination anything is possible.

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.

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?