Invincible

I recently watched the movie Invincible (based on a true story) starring Mark Wahlberg, Greg Kinnear, and Elizabeth Banks. The film was directed by Ericson Core, and produced by Gordon Gray. The setting is 1975 in Philadelphia, where the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles are a struggling team surrounded by an angry fan base. The city of brotherly love, as it is called, is well, not feeling much love for its local football team, as jobs are tough to come by and everyone is looking for a distraction. Unfortunately, the Eagles constant losing further frustrates an already disgruntled populous.

Mark Wahlberg plays Vince Papale, a struggling citizen of the working class who enjoys fooling around with his buddies when he's not watching his favorite team, the Eagles. After the season ends a new coach,Dick Vermeil, played by Greg Kinnear, is hired by the Philadelphia Eagles organization. In Vermeil's first press conference as head coach he announces open tryouts, available to any and all Eagles fans. Papale gets pushed into trying out by his friends, and consequently makes the team.

Papale's story is one of overcoming all odds. We see him get fired from his teaching job, and then left by his longtime girlfriend, who leaves him a note saying he will never amount to anything. Once in training camp, no one except the head coach shows him any support. The younger players frequently harass and insult him saying he cannot compete with them. Despite all this, Papale succeeds as an player in the NFL, and all the while he finds a new girl by the name of Jenny, played by Elizabeth Banks, whom he becomes lovers with.

Some aspects of the film were altered from reality in order to create a better, more inspiring and dramatic story. Some of the games that are featured during the movie did not necessarily happen as they were portrayed. For example, some close games were not very close in reality. Other than that, some more major discrepancies include the end scene, where Papale causes a fumble and scores a touchdown. While this did indeed occur, the touchdown in reality did not count due to NFL rules back then. Along with that, in the film, Papale's character is one without any experience but Papale in real life actually did have some football experience. Perhaps the only other gripe one could have about this film is that Papale's character, a die hard Eagles fan, becomes lovers with a die hard Giants fan, as it has been well documented that the Giants and Eagles have had one of the longest rivalries in NFL history. But you know what they say, love conquers all! So as you can see the "true story" was a bit embellished, but other than those changes, I have no complaints.

So, if you are someone looking for an action packed, twist and turn kind of movie, well this probably isn't a film you'll enjoy. However if you enjoy a good, inspirational sports story (and football) than this will be an enjoyable movie for you.

Now, all that being said, which team will be able to call itself "Invincible" after the Super Bowl? Will it be the best offense of the Denver Broncos, or the best defense of the Seattle Seahawks that becomes this years Super Bowl champion?