Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
... invincible?
Titles like this make me mental. You’re just asking for trouble. You’re just asking for people to write dodgy one-liners for the headlines that shitcan the movie just for the joke. “INVINCIBLE Isn’t.” “INVINCIBLE Gets Killed.” That sort of thing. Having said that, here’s one viewer’s reaction to actually seeing the movie:
My handle's "Deep Cover" on the boards, if you decide to print this. (I love that little-seen Larry Fishburne drug flick.) Here's the review:
Saw the new Marky Mark Wahlberg football movie INVINCIBLE tonight, which doesn't hit theaters until late this month, so this is a pretty early review. This is the third in a trilogy of Disney sports pictures produced by the guys who made THE ROOKIE and MIRACLE, so you pretty much know what you're going to get going in, and there are no surprises or deviations from formula in INVINCIBLE.
The story is about Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), a bartender/substitute teacher in Philadelphia in the late ‘70's who gets a shot at playing for the Eagles when new head coach Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear, who, if you know who Vermeil is, kinda looks the part) allows the public to participate in open tryouts. Vince's wife has just left him and the school he subbed at also lets him go. The flick languishes a little too long at the beginning in that late 70's Jimmy Carter malaize. Lots of sepia tones, hard luck stories, Vince's buddies crying into their cheesesteaks. And like all silver screen superheroes, Vince has father issues - and I don't think I'm giving too much away by suggesting his boy makes him mighty proud by the time the credits roll.
Things finally perk up when tryouts are held and a perky New York City blonde (Elizabeth Banks, best known for quick cameos in SPIDER-MAN & SPIDER-MAN 2 as Betty Brant, and looking even tastier here) begins working with Vince at the bar. Predictably, the cinematographer's light meter brightens up during the on-the-field scenes (ooh, I'm trying to convey that Vince is more "alive" when on the field, ain't I clever?), then goes back to 70's sepia when he's off it. Blah. Been done.
There wasn't a whole lot to hold my attention when Banks is off-screen (though my date enjoyed Marky Mark's very un-70's physique in slo-mo). What I kept thinking most was "hey, the Eagles didn't have the metallic green helmets they do now back then" — so when my thoughts consistently drift to continuity errors, there ain't much going on onscreen that I haven't seen in a dozen other cookie-cutter sports flicks.
And that's OK, I guess. The crowd I saw it with was split about 50/50; half eating it up and the other half experiencing the same deja vu I was. The first half smattered applause at all the usual cues and seemed to enjoy themselves. The rest of us were probably figuring, "hey, it was free and it's really not that bad." Put me in the second group.
Would've been nice to see more of Banks (literally) , but this being a Disney flick, she and Wahlberg barely do more than make googly-eyes at each other for two hours. Another minor quibble would be the film's obviously test-marketed title — there's nothing in the story or film to suggest Papale is "Invincible" in any sort of way, just a local boy done good. (I suppose "Vince" is audible in the title, and if that played a factor, then that's just sad.) According to Wikipedia, his nickname during his playing days was "Rocky", and I guess that title was taken. As a semi-literate NFL fan, I was also disappointed that the writers did not make Dick Vermeil cry ONCE in this film. Vermeil's likely a future Hall of Fame coach, but he's also acquired a reputation as someone who gets very misty when discussing how much he loves his players, which has been exploited for comic effect by Howard Stern and the like. Would've been a nice touch.
So I guess the best endorsement I can give INVINCIBLE is that if you get to see it for free, it's not a bad little sports flick. Just don't go in expecting RUDY or ANY GIVEN SUNDAY.
Damned with faint praise. Thanks, though, “Deep Cover.”
"Moriarty" out.
