Review of 'Eddie the Eagle'

Based on a true story, Michael “Eddie” Edwards (played by Tom Costello at 10 years old, Jack Costello at 15 and Taron Egerton as an adult) is a precocious young boy who dreams of one day being in the Olympics despite having no aptitude at sports. His father Terry (Keith Allen) sees Eddie's dreams as nonsense instead encouraging his son to pick up a paying job in construction. Janette (Jo Hartley), his mother, is easier going and encourages her son as much as she can. He tries his hands at various sports until he discovers an unlikely loophole that will allow him to represent Britain in the Winter Olympics in the sport of ski jumping if he simply competes in a recognised tournament. Following his heart Eddie “borrows” his father's van and heads to Europe for training in how to jump. There he encounters Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), a former ski jumping champion now drowning his sorrows in alcohol and working at the training facility. Despite the obvious risks Eddie is determined to jump for the UK team in the Calgary 1988 Olympics but will he able to convince Bronson to pull himself together enough to at least show Eddie how not to break every bone in his body?

A feel-good movie along the, very similar lines of “Cool Runnings” (which is coincidentally set in the same Olympics) but with a bit more physical peril involved…Egerton is utterly convincing as Eddie, both physically and in his character, putting a much fairer face on a person who, at the time, I personally felt was simply the embodiment of pure British pluck and an object of amusement. Here we see that Eddie is to be admired as chasing his dreams in spite of overwhelming odds, embodying the Olympic ideal of determination and courage. Jackman also puts on a tremendous performance as the washed up champion now looking for some redemption taking on this most unlikely of pupils.

Much of the action is performed for real which really helps convince the viewer of the danger and reality of the story. The camera angles are ingenious and bring you closer to the story. This is a quintessential British film and oozes this from every frame but suffers not a lot because of this, showing it's heart on it's sleeve. Keep an open mind, sit back and enjoy.

This is a fun, and pleasant story that left me uplifted. You can't help but love it though for goodness sake don't take it seriously!

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2016-12-31

Directed by: Dexter Fletcher

Studio: Marv Films

Year: 2016

Length: 106 minutes

Genre: Melodrama

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1083452/

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