Invincible
Added 1/16/2010
When the coach of Vince Papale's beloved hometown football team hosted an unprecedented open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way. Certainly no one like Papale a down on his luck, 30 year old, substitute teacher and part-time bartender who never even played college football. But against these odds, Papale made the team and soon found himself living every fan's fantasy moving from his cheap seats in the upper deck to standing on the field as a professional football player. This movie is heartfelt and gratifying, exciting movie that, like its hero, has heart. Wahlberg plays his role very effectively in this movie. Do yourself and your family a favor, watch this movie.
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Invincible
Added 12/19/2009
The storyline was uplifting and the scenes took you back to those troubled times. Remembering that we got through difficult times before reminds us that we'll get through them again. This movie is a gem. Mark Walberg, as Vince Papale,reminds us that integrity, perseverance, and earnestness are qualities that strengthen us. We help ourselves when we support our family and friends (and community).
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Great Price for a great movie!
Added 8/4/2009
This movie is awesome! The acting is not the greatest, but the story makes up for it big time!
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Who's Nuts?
Added 3/11/2009
The most amazing thing about the film "Invincible" is that even though he never got to see a Super Bowl, Vince Papale was rightly credited with making a contribution of his own in getting the Philadelphia Eagles on the right track by generating fan enthusiasm with his talent and athletic ability. Knowing what the Eagles'record was like immediately prior to his (and Head Coach Dick Vermeil's) appearance, it would be very hard to disagree.
At the beginning of "Invincible", the Eagles are an awful, awful football team. By the end of the film, everything begins to turn, and the fans in Philadelphia are going nuts! So what's not to like?
I saw this film and went nuts. In fact, I liked the film "Invincible"so much, I got the book and quickly read it. The book "Invincible" was just as inspiring, but it gave me a much different picture of Vince Papale. While many athletes tend to embelish past accomplishments (The older I get, the tougher I was...) Papale is pretty clear in his explanation about how he got to be special teams Captain of the Philadelphia Eagles. That it mostly had to do with perseverance, stamina, mental toughness, and yes, luck. It a good read, but that's for another review.
Anyway, Papale was physically very tough, but the choice he made for his college education wasn't an NFL breeding ground like Penn State or Notre Dame. Even though he was recruited to play professional ball in another league, for years the NFL was a distant dream. What "Invincible" the film didn't touch on was that Vince Papale had a great basis of experience to draw upon in order become a very good professional athlete. And it wasn't just sandlot smashmouth football.
Papale's background is something that the film "Invincible" doesn't really get very much into. It can't; There just wouldn't be enough time for it, and to take a trip though Papale's past athletic struggles would be too complicated for most audiences. Even though it's very interesting, without all of that, the pace of the movie itself is just about right. The story unfolds gradually and doesn't drag.
Mark Whalberg is a great choice for the part of Vince Papale. Although he doesn't resemble Papale, Wahlberg can take a character and make him come to life, as he does here, in an "everyman" sort of way. I also really liked Greg Kinnear as Dick Vermeil. Elizabeth Banks as Janet Cantrell is pretty good too.
The soundtrack is period stuff, mainly. Some of it holds up well ("I Just Want to Celebrate," "Funk, No.49," "Fooled Around and Fell in Love") and some of it doesn't. Personally, I don't care if I ever hear "Free Bird" again for the rest of my life...
Anyway, too bad about the Eagles in 2008. Close, but no cigar. At least the kid I saw in the the stands during the playoffs knew what the deal was. He was wearing his Papale Jersey.
Go Eagles!
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Massive Disconnect
Added 10/27/2008
As a huge football fan--and because I very much remember, and watched, Vince Papale play--I so wanted to like INVINCIBLE. And what's not to like? A hometown, down-on-his-luck, thirtysomething ex-jock getting a shot to play in the NFL is mega-inspiring. . .or should be. But this film misses the mark, and fails to connect. Why?
Mark Wahlberg plays Papale as a silent, brooding man; when his wife leaves him, he sits in his empty apartment and broods; when the pressures of making the Philadelphia Eagles' roster mount, he sits in the stands and broods; he broods in the bar where he works; he broods on the stoops of his father's flat; he broods in his dorm room at training camp. Problem is, he's so aloof--to all the other characters, and to the audience--we never get to meet Vince Papale. Who is this guy? Why is he so emotion-less? Why won't he engage with. . .anyone? And then, during the film's closing credits, when we watch clips of the real Vince Papale playing football--an animated, engaging, enthusiastic Papale--we feel a massive disconnect between the real man and Wahlberg's portrayal. I sure wanted to get to know the guy in those clips; it definitely didn't seem like the same person who was sleepwalking through the film.
Speaking of animation, Coach Dick Vermeil was one of the most fired-up, enthusiastic coaches to ever roam an NFL sideline; yet even here the filmmakers give us a very somber, subdued portrayal (Greg Kinnear). And Elizabeth Banks, the mandatory romantic interest, is often downright obnoxious as an in-your-face New York Giant fan in Eagle-crazed Philadelphia. There was so much to like--and so much squandered--with the premise of INVINCIBLE. Huge cinematic disappointment.
--D. Mikels, Author, Walk-On
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