Clint Eastwood directs Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela in this
uneven movie that is part compelling biopic and part boring sports
movie. Freeman is perfect in the role, and the movie is intriguing when
dealing with his initial struggles to unite South Africa as its first
black president. Things start to go out of focus when the movie
switches from Mandela to rugby as the country’s team fights to
win the World Cup. Granted, this is an inspiring story, but Eastwood
takes the life out of it with tedious sports sequences. Matt Damon has
his moments as the team captain, but I kept wishing the movie would go
back to Mandela, who becomes more of a spectator in the second half of
the movie. Too bad, because the first third of the film feels like you
are about to see a masterpiece. Then, far too much scrumming and way
too many elongated, slow-motion crowd shots.
Invictus
