The best films are multi-layered, telling many different stories at the same time. Unstoppable does that, and does that well. On the surface it tells the story of Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome). He’s a one-legged college wrestler who inspired people around the world by winning a national championship. The film’s trailer may focus on that particular part of the plot. But Unstoppable is also a story about family.
Unstoppable feels like Oscar bait. It tells a feel good story, has terrific acting from Jerome, as well as his supporting cast of Jennifer Lopez, Anthony Mackey, Michael Peña and Bobby Cannavale, and it’s relevant to the world we live in today. Unfortunately though, it doesn’t offer anything new to the genre that we haven’t seen before. Inspirational sports stories that are well acted come out every year, and Unstoppable feels like it will easily get lost in the bunch. It even has the Oscar-worthy moments where a character gives a speech that, sure, talks to other the character in the room. He’s also talking to the audience. It’s a tired trope that really needs to stop.
As a film Unstoppable doesn’t have anything wrong with it, but it doesn’t give us something different to cheer for either. It feels like a cookie-cutter film. On one hand, it can work and make films successful, but on the other hand, it’s the type of film that doesn’t win awards either. It will please crowds, but it won’t do much more than that.
- Rated: NR
- Genre: Drama, sport
- Release Date: 9/6/2024
- Directed by: William Goldenberg
- Starring: Anthony Mackey, Bobby Cannavale, Jennifer Lopez, Jharrel Jerome, Michael Peña
- Produced by: Andy Fraser, Anthony Robles, Ben Affleck, David Crockett, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Gary Lewis, Matt Damon
- Written by: Alex Harris, Eric Champnella, John Hindman
- Studio: Amazon MGM Studios, Artists Equity, Nuyorican Productions
