Invincible (2006)

Such a frustrating disappointment

hyped garbage

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Invincible is a pretty standard "inspirational sports movie." It has all of the familiar characters, plot lines and dialogue that we have grown accustomed to in movies like this. This is the Western Family version of Rudy. It's not exceptional, just acceptable. Plus, I was surprised to find out how much this movie differs from the actual life of Vince Papale.

Both Mark Wahlberg and Greg Kinnear are such naturals in delivering their characters. When in fact, from the production notes, Wahlberg went through actual football training/coaching, being there with the team for every play and practice, gaining insight into his portrayal of a real living person. Both met their inspired 'hero'. For Kinnear, he received confirmation when Vermeil's son indicated that he got his father's mannerism/cadence spot on. The operative word here is 'genuine,' caring and intensely so. They worked hard preparing and learning to correctly portray the two NFL notables.The film focuses on our hero and to a large degree his neighborhood friends and what it was like for a 30 year old bartender who only played organized football in high school and how he showed up one Saturday at an unprecedented open try out for a professional football team and how he was selected....not selected to join the team automatically.No, he was only selected for a spot to possibly be on the team. It took a few weeks of being with the team and surviving 'cuts' until he was actually part of the team.The fact that he did make it, against all the odds, is certainly your classic fairy tale come true.Disney manages to show rough guys from a rough part of Philadelphia and rough professional football players realistically without ever having to utter one profanity on the screen or use gratuitous violence or vulgarity to do it. That's an accomplishment Disney should be proud of.Honestly, as a movie buff, it's been a long time since I've gone to the movies where I was able to stay engaged throughout the running time of the movie.The movie isn't pretentious nor does it take the easy way out in telling its story of rough blue collar characters-by employing vulgarity, overt sexuality or excessive violence.It relies on tried and true methods like a good story line, taking the time to establish a good foundation in the beginning of the movie, letting the audience get to know the characters involved and then when the bigger more dramatic moments come it doesn't need to rely on over the top special affects to get the audience involved.

When the hard times come, and they are gonna come in truckloads, what can you do? just try to fight them and find a way to get back up. This is the story of a man who struggles to make ends meet, who is abandoned by his wife, and at the age of 30 is still asking his dad for money. He hangs around a pub with his jobless friends, and plays backyard football with them for which he seems to be better than any. One day, a call is made by the city's football team. They are looking for new players and are willing to give a chance to anyone to do a trial. And guess what, the protagonist makes it to the team!! A true story. Vincent Papale is his name. If you are looking for a Rockyesque type of movie, the type where an average man makes it to the top out of the blue and inspires a generation, this is it.

I like Mark Wahlberg in some movies, others I think he is just okay. In this one, I thought he was just great. he plays a truly likable former high school football player (who never played in college), but still hits the "gridiron" in pick up games in South Philly in the late 1970s. He's lost his job as a high school teacher and his wife left him, leaving a note that he will never go anywhere in life. Well, things change rather quickly when Dick Vermil (played strongly by Greg Kinear) takes over for the desperate, losing Philadelphia Eagles. Vermil decides to give walk-on tryouts to Philadelphia natives, as a publicity stunt. One person gets called to camp, and that's Wahlberg's character. This is a definite inspirational story, which is based on a true story, where the guy actually makes the team. Wahlberg's character has speed, intensity, passion, and will, and he becomes a special teams expert, playing 3 or 4 years in the NFL. Only downside,as I have learned in many of these "biographical" movies, is that while it was close to the truth, there were many things in the movie that turned out to be just plain false. but if you're watching Invincible as just a movie, and not a biography, then this is great one, which didn't get the critical reviews it deserves.