Unstoppable Hits All The Same Sports Inspirational Notes

Despite a genre that is often overcrowded and often borrows from itself, it’s hard to resist a sports story about someone who defies the odds. You may have never played a bit of football in your life, but I wouldn’t care Rudy does not inspire the desire to do the impossible. The true story of Anthony Robles is incredible and William Goldenberg’sUnstoppable’ wants to make sure you know. Although he was born with one leg, he was born in 2011 125-pound NCAA wrestling champion, completing an undefeated season at 36-0. It’s a story about defying the odds that feels right at home on the big screen and fits in with the ranks of sports dramas that have come before it. Any narrative that follows this path needs a solid clue to make the point. Jharrel Jerome fits the bill as he shows courage, determination and humanity in his portrayal of Robles.

The story of Robles is the main dish on which all the ingredients are based. But in this regard there were cases when Unstoppable could have gone outside the box and delved into the complexities of the other characters in this story. It’s all designed to ensure that this one story of persistence is overturned, while Robles’ story already does that job independently. Unstoppable begins at the end of high school and Robles (Jerome) has more than proven himself to be an exceptional athlete despite being overlooked by many colleges. Iowa University is the college wrestling mecca, and Anthony really wants to go there. But they, like other universities, give him the cold shoulder because of his disability.

Drexel University is the only school that offers him a full scholarship. With Anthony’s family struggling with money, this seems like the perfect time. However, Anthony wants to compete at the highest level, which sometimes means taking the most difficult paths.

The writing team of Eric Champnella, Alex Harris and John Hindman laid the foundation for this Unstoppable circled. As Anthony’s slow rise to greatness, everything else (including the supporting cast) works with him to elevate him even further. While we can keep up with the journey and often be overwhelmed by how great it is, the film diminishes the people around it because it has certain beats to play. One of Anthony’s strongest supporters is his mother, Judy (Jennifer Lopez) and the beginning and end of “Unstoppable” show this most clearly. Lopez focuses on the dramatic portrayal of a mother who wants the best for her children but weathers the storm of a troubled household.

Bobby Cannavale is Anthony’s domestic counterpart in the role of his stepfather Rich. He is a cop on a power trip and often looks down on Anthony’s dreams at every opportunity. The film gets to this point where it’s constantly trying to convey the tension between Rich and Anthony, with Judy caught in the middle with Anthony’s younger siblings. Within Unstoppabletwo dangerous attacks do not work in conjunction with each other. Instead, they try to appeal to different emotions and give Judy’s character some motivations too late in the story to fully realize her arc.

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For everything that is missing to flesh out the story, Goldenberg, along with cinematographer Salvatore Totino, demonstrates a great instinct for making the wrestling scenes stand out. There’s an exciting, technical energy to them that ensures every trick and every point matters in the moment. As for typical sports mentors, Michael Pena and Don Cheadle are the prototypical high school and college coaches who provide Anthony with much-needed advice along the way. Once you get to the big championship game, Unstoppable feels most comfortable. It knows how to capture the big mass moment when the odds collapse under the will of the person who wanted more for themselves. No doubt that will be the hook for a lot of people, and I can’t blame them if they come away from this film feeling overjoyed that this story happened. I did that too! The unfortunate thing is Unstoppable All the pieces were there to make me feel much more comfortable with the complex story. The predictable path could be the winning formula, but not the six points it could have been.

“Unstoppable” premiered and was reviewed at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival. Read more here.

Main image source: Amazon MGM Studios