Release Date – 12/11/09
Nelson Mandela was just released from prison where he served 27 years for charges of sabotage and other crimes against the rules of segregation in South Africa. He gained enough popularity for his views of reconciliation and negotiation that he became South Africa’s President in 1994. During his term, he had a plan to unite his fellow countrymen simply by getting behind their rugby team during the World Cup. Francois Pienaar is the team captain who becomes close to Mandela during this time. Its an odd way to make a movie about Nelson Mandela. Its basically a sports movie mixed with some race relations and politics. Very weird mix but it is able to keep you entertained and interested from beginning to end.
Morgan Freeman puts on a damn good performance as Nelson Mandela. We already knew he looked the part but he pulls off the accent also. He is getting some much deserved Award recognition for his portrayal of this iconic political leader. Matt Damon plays the rugby captain. He also puts on a good performance and pulls off a South African accent. It reminded me of Blood Diamond where I thought Leo’s accent would take me out of the movie but these great actors make you forget that’s not how they normally talk almost immediately. Two stellar performances and some of the better scenes were during the building of their friendship together. The story was based on a book by John Carlin and directed by the great Clint Eastwood. The man can take any topic and make some masterful pieces of film. I still think it’s a very odd way to make a Nelson Mandela movie. He seemed to only care about rugby. I’m not sure if this is factual to a tee or not but it was just a very odd way to portray the man.
Towards the end of the film, it becomes a full on sports movie. It’s a lot of rugby action. So you’re no longer caring much about Mandela as you are wanting to see the “good guys” win the World Cup. I feel this took away a bit from Mandela’s story but I’m sure any sports fan would love the final act. Another negative for me personally is I’m still not sure how rugby works. After watching them play for half the movie, I was still confused on what was going on. Its hard to root for a team when you don’t know how the match ends or how many points each goal is. So I didn’t know if South Africa was about to win or lose in the end. But that aside, the movie really gets you pumped up like a good sports flick and educates you with some information on Nelson Mandela and his first term in office. There’s a lot of racial issues and politics but Eastwood seems to keep it lighter than his last racially heavy movie, Gran Torino. But I would have to say its another fine film in the arsenal of the great Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, and Matt Damon.
IMDB – 7.9/10
Rotten Tomatoes – 76%
Movie Wiseguys – 7.5/10