http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1057500/

I have a lot of respect for Clint Eastwood. Not many American directors these days would make a rugby film, but I like that he takes risks. There is something about sports that can bring us together as a people. For a moment all our past problems can be thrown aside as we are engulfed by the passion of the crowd. I am not a sports fan, haven't been since I was a kid. However I can appreciate a good sports film because most of them are essentially underdog stories. This can get a bit dull after a while though, so the political and social backdrop of South Africa really helped to make this film better. It is nowhere near as good or polished as The Damned United, but it is still quite a good film. Clint's last film Gran Torino was not very good, in fact most of it was pretty poorly done overall but it still managed to be somewhat enjoyable. The same year though he released Changeling, which is a superior film in every way. He may be a bit hit and miss at times, but I respect many of the choices he has made as a director. He has a very plain look when it comes to how he shoots his films. Nothing fancy, he is almost an observer with a camera watching these character's lives. This film is about Nelson Mandela using his country's rugby team to unite his people. The film does mention other problems in the country like a rising crime rate, but they are not really important to the story. We see how Mandela has to fight to keep his people supportive of his choices, and after a while he realizes how useful rugby can be for bringing his people together. Morgan Freeman plays Mandela quite well, but he doesn't really stray far from his usual way of acting.

The real surprise here is Matt Damon, he was much better than I expected. Even though he didn't look like a rugby player and his character isn't very developed he still manages a very good performance. I think his accent is more consistant than Leonardo Dicaprio's in Blood Diamond. Though Leo had more to say than Matt. The main problem with this film is that I never felt involved with it. Even Mandela wasn't very interesting. The political aspect of the film is the backbone of it and the driving force behind why the rugby is so important. When it comes to that aspect it does well. I liked the interactions between Mandela's bodyguards and how the tension slowly eased until they were able to play rugby and work well together. I never really found the film very compelling other than the rugby scenes. I liked how Clint shot them and didn't resort to having commentator's describe the action more than necessaryThe rugby part is interesting enough, it is the typical underdog story with much more at stake since they are respresenting South Africa. Everything else though was rather bland and uninteresing. We never really get a sense of Mandela and his scenes almost seem like filler at times. I found myself waiting for Matt Damon to come back on screen. I think Clint gave himself too much with this film. He has to deal with a very sensitive time in South Africa's history, and there is almost too much going on for him to handle. Clint is at his best when he is directing slower character based pieces like Unforgiven. This though feels too emotionally detached.

I enjoyed watching the characters and the situation evolve, but there were too many unimportant characters who didn't really do much in the end. Mandela's politcal frustrations with his getting his people on his side are all good, but I never felt any involvement. Also when the film tries to be emotional with the rugby scenes it can be very cheesy. There is some very cheesy and unnecassary slow motion used at the end that was just tedious to watch. I may sound overly negative here, this is not a bad film in the slightest. It may not be very emotionally involving, but it is still an interesting film. It did make me want to research South Africa a bit more, so I give it that at least. I remember not too long ago when Spain won the world cup I was in Madrid. I was walking back to my hotel with my dad, and suddenly the city exploded. People were running and cheering and screaming for hours. I may not be a fan of sports, but it was impossible not to feel the passion that made the air buzz with joy. That is what this film lacks. It doesn't have the passion all the way through that a film like The Damned United has. I also found the music very dull other than the African music. The only really emotional involvement I felt was at the end after the last match. The scenes of people cheering and celebrating were the best in the film. It may be a bigger scale film, but in the end it doesn't feel like much more than a very well done underdog story with a political background. It teased me with infomation just enough to make me interested in the film. I hope Clint makes another few films before he dies, he is a very talented director and while this isn't one of his best it is still a good film.

Overall I give it a 7 out of 10.