Unstoppable is unstoppable but not as legendary as other great sports movies.

by Henry Pham

Sports movies are not my thing, but they are interesting to see. At least it is not a sequel,remake, or anything like that, just a non-sequel  movie anyone has ever asked for. Unstoppable is based on the true story and focuses on a wrestler named Anthony Robles, who is born with one leg and overcomes the odds to pursue his dreams. Supported by his devoted mother, Judy, and driven by his coaches’ encouragement, Anthony fights through adversity and earns a spot on the Arizona State Wrestling team. But it will demand everything he has, physically and mentally, to achieve his ultimate quest of becoming a NCAA Champion.

Actor Jharrel Jerome (Moonlight) portrays aspiring wrestler Anthony Robles, who, born
without a right leg for reasons unknown, grows up in Mesa, Arizona, and lives with his single (but supportive) mother, Judy Robles (portrayed by actress and singer Jennifer Lopez). In the film, he receives a scholarship offer from Drexel University but chooses to attend Arizona State University (ASU) instead to stay closer to his family. He later joins the wrestling team as a walk-on, earning a spot despite initial skepticism from his supportive coaches. Jerome brings a heavy performance portraying a real-life wrestler. He understands the struggles between family and wrestling, but in the end, he cares a lot about his concerns and the personal choices that devoured him.

Based upon the book written by real-life wrestler Anthony Robles and Austin Murphy,
filmmaker and professional film editor William Goldenberg makes his sensational directorial debut in this feature film. He is known for editing The Insider, Seabiscuit, Zero Dark Thirty, The Imitation Game, and Argo (the latter of which won him an Oscar for Best Film Editing). He is also known for his extensive collaborations with filmmakers Michael Mann and Ben Affleck, who serve as one of the producers of this movie. The cinematography is outstanding, while the writing and the direction are not too bad. However, the pacing and some camera shots need a little more work as the camera shakes and a little lack of camera angle measurements are present in the movie. Overall, the story and the organizational work for the plot line seem to be in order. But the most crucial part about this movie is the chemistry between Jharrel Jerome and Jennifer Lopez, which is increasingly emotional and perfect to watch.

The three other Unstoppable actors include Bobby Cannavale (NBC’s Third Watch) as
Anthony’s stepfather Rich, Michael Peña (Marvel’s Ant-Man films) as Coach Bobby Williams, and Don Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Marvel Cinematic Universe films) as Coach Sean Charles.

Despite the filmmakers and actors trying to match the source material from the book,
Unstoppable is unstoppable but not as legendary as other great sports movies. But at least William Goldenberg has a good, slow start on landing in the film-directing world, and that’s what matters. He is learning how to make a good movie. If he is good at editing movies, I’m sure he would be good at film directing. The cast is decent in their performances, but they gave Jerome balancing chemistry on the set, mostly Lopez. If you love sports movies (or Jennifer Lopez movies) so much, this movie is a must-watch for you, and it clocks in at about 123 minutes long. The film is up on Amazon Prime Video.

GRADE: C+