EDDIE THE EAGLE : Official Reviews ( Potential SPOILERS)

[jo]

The first one comes from THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER --

www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/eddie-eagle-sundance-review-859730

'Eddie the Eagle': Sundance Review

1/27/2016 by John DeFore


The Bottom Line : A multiplex-friendly underdog tale. 


Hugh Jackman reluctantly coaches Taron Egerton to bumbling Olympic stardom.




Most American moviegoers don't know the story of Eddie Edwards, the plasterer who managed to represent Great Britain in the 1988 Olympic ski-jumping contest despite a startling lack of athletic prowess. And they won't quite know it even after Eddie the Eagle, which takes tremendous liberties with the actual facts (which are sometimes more colorful than the script's inventions). But the essence of what made the man inspiring to so many — it's not the winning, but the effort that's important — comes through with gonglike clarity in Derek Fletcher's film, a straight-down-the-ramp sports tale that plays to the average man's dreams of momentary greatness. With Hugh Jackman as Eddie's coach, multiplex doors are open to the ingratiating pic, though it may not be greeted quite as warmly elsewhere as it was in this ski town at a "secret" Townie Tuesday Sundance screening.

Steve Coogan was once slated to play the gawky, eccentric Eddie; a few years later, Rupert Grint had the gig. But in the end it went to Taron Egerton, fresh from Kingsman: The Secret Service and ready for a major change from that film's wannabe-Bond glamour. Here, he wears awkward, ill-fitting glasses and screws his face up as if suffering from a mild palsy, playing a man who dreamed of being an Olympian from childhood but proved incompetent at every sport he tried.

As Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton's script has it, Eddie finally got passably good at downhill skiing, but when the time came to pick Britain's 1988 team, he was just too big a klutz. But when he learned of antiquated rules that made it much easier to get on the bill as a ski-jumper than a regular skier — the nation had no ski-jump ramps, so competition was nonexistent — he decided to qualify in that category. Though he'd never jumped in his life.

The real Edwards in fact had considerably more experience, and had stunt-jumped over buses and cars, but that's not a good enough story for Eagle, which gets most of its mileage out of looking up at big ramps — 40 meters, 70 meters, the neck-breaking 90 — and treating them like frontiers of unthinkable difficulty. Eddie faces these challenges in Garmisch, Germany, where he meets the fictional Bronson Peary (Jackman), a onetime US ski-team star who was kicked out by also-fictional coach Warren Sharp (Christopher Walken) for being a rule-breaking hotshot whose daredevilry was sure to get his wingman killed some day. Wait, that last part was from Top Gun.

These days, Peary drives a snowplow and drinks his breakfast from a whiskey bottle. He's disgusted by Eddie's attempts to teach himself how to jump, but in the way of underdog sports films, he soon comes around, if only to keep the stupid kid from killing himself. It doesn't hurt that Peary despises the Finnish ski studs who taunt Eddie with their superior technique and proud Scandinavian penises.

And now it's time for a Hall & Oates training montage, in which the grouchy vet imparts ski-jump wisdom ("approach the leap as if you're screwing Bo Derek") to his student, who has stolen his Dad's van and borrowed the family's savings from Mom in order to pay for his attempts to qualify for the Olympics. Spoiler alert: He qualifies, and his performance there, of which we will say nothing, endears him to home viewers and the press to an extent sure to rile athletes who've been training since they were five or six. That last bit, at least, is true.

Egerton lays the I'm-a-dork business on awfully thick in the film's first act, but the performance gets easier to take as the film goes — perhaps mellowing in the presence of Jackman, who seems to understand there's no need to push himself in such a cookie-cutter role. Matthew Margeson's synth-heavy score apes 1988 perfectly well, and the gravity-defying action gives this pic a slight thrill-ride edge over Cool Runnings, which was based on another unlikely story from the 1988 Winter Games and was a clear inspiration here. Still, this being Sundance, a viewer can't help but wonder how this tale might have been told by a director currently in town with another film: Having made a 1976 documentary about woodcarver-turned ski-jumper Walter Steiner and been an amateur jumper himself, what would Werner Herzog have made of Eddie Edwards's feats of mad bravery?

[jo]

The UK Telegraph is more appreciative of the movie, compared to The Hollywood Reporter.

www.telegraph.co.uk/film/eddie-the-eagle/sundance-premiere-reaction-hugh-jackman/

Eddie the Eagle and Hugh Jackman win gold at Sundance 2016


Dexter Fletcher's crowd-pleasing biopic of Britain's hapless Olympic hero has crashed in the snowy hills of Utah - and the landing couldn't have gone smoother



Gregory Ellwood 27 January 2016 • 12:41pm



The biggest unkept secret at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival was that 20th Century Fox’s Eddie the Eagle would be the secret, or “townie” screening for the residents of Park City, Utah on Tuesday night. Eddie’s unofficial world premiere at America’s premier independent film event was more or less announced when stars Hugh Jackman and Taron Edgerton popped up all over the city’s infamous Main St. for press interviews.

The duo made quite a splash introducing the movie – Jackman coaxed the audience to engage in a round of “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie,” - but it was the (mostly) true story of Eddie Edwards that likely stuck with them the most.

Edwards made history at the 1988 Calgary Olympics as the first British ski jumper to participate in a Winter Games in over 60 years. He became a global celebrity after landing jumps in two different competitions during those games and earning the nickname “Eddie the Eagle.”




Hugh Jackman, left, and Taron Egerton promoting Eddie the Eagle at the Sundance Film Festival

Credit: AP/Matt Sayles


More importantly, he gave hope to millions that no matter what your background or upbringing if you worked hard enough and persevered enough you too could become an Olympian. Remarkably, the Dexter Fletcher directed biopic not only respects his legacy, but also finds a way to avoid mocking the quirky Edwards (wonderfully portrayed by Edgerton) himself.

Following the movie’s delightful depiction of our hero’s childhood obsession with becoming an Olympic athlete, the audience learns what he’s truly up against when the British Olympic Committee informs him that, despite his performance on the downhill skiing team, he won’t be allowed to participate in the qualifiers for the Games. Edwards comes from a working class family and because he didn’t attend the right university he’s basically told he’s unworthy to be an Olympian.

Realising the organisation’s rules wouldn’t hinder him from participating in ski jumping, Edwards takes a leap of faith and travels to a German training facility. That’s where, in the film at least, he meet former U.S. champion Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman) who he’ll eventually convince to be his coach.



Beyond Fletcher’s superb direction and Matthew Margeson’s spot on Eighties themed score, the film soars on the chemistry between Edgerton and Jackman. Of course, Jackman’s character and his time in Germany is completely fictional (Edwards was trained by two established American coaches in Lake Placid, NY) the two actors are so good they’ll make you believe this is how it all actually went down.

As fantastic and transformative Edgerton is, its Jackman’s performance that seals the deal. Speaking to the packed audience following the Tuesday night screening Fletcher revealed that it was producer Matthew Vaughn who first suggested they approach the Australian box office superstar.

Fletcher recalled, “When the script came around Matthew said, ‘We’ve got to go to Hugh Jackman.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, right. Let’s do that and see if Brad Pitt is available as well.’ But Hugh read the script and I found myself on an airplane going to New York thinking ‘This is good.’ And I met Hugh who was just unbelievably enthusiastic because he remembered Eddie when he was a kid. He was very keen from the outset.”

While the film takes some obvious creative liberties outside of Jackman’s composite character, it sticks to history when Edwards gets to Calgary. Fletcher credits the real Edwards, who endured 15 years of different incarnations and scripts surrounding the project, for giving the movie his blessing after Jackman and Edgerton came on board. It was incredibly important to the director that they all did his life justice.

“The movie could easily tip over to sentimentality, but that would do it a disservice,” Fletcher told the Sundance faithful. “It’s a fictionalised account of a true story as much as it can be, but I still wanted it to feel like it’s authentic. I still wanted it to be so that when we go on that journey it all held together.”

On that point he should sleep easy tonight. The audience, many of whom missed the reports about what film was sneaking that night, laughed throughout and even clapped when Edwards landed some of his more dangerous jumps.


And when the credits rolled, the theater erupted into a spontaneous applause that pretty much expected. That’s because Eddie the Eagle has the sophisticated visual style of a Vaughn produced film, the charm of a Working Title release and the heart of a Disney sports movie. And, frankly, that’s a combination that even the most ardent independent film lovers can’t resist.

Eddie the Eagle is released in the UK on March 28

[mamaleh]

Nice review, Jo. Thanks for posting.

Looks like Taron may have the same problem HJ has had throughout his career: surname confusion. Like Jackson for Jackman, the above reporter confuses Edgerton (as in Joel) with Egerton (Taron).

Ellen

[jo]

A film critic was guest on a TV show and talked about a few showings at SUNDANCE, but more lengthily about EDDIE THE EAGLE. He said he cannot give a formal review yet ( there is probably an embargo until its official USA release) ... but then flashed the " two thumbs up" hand motion!

Btw, he says the movie stars Taron Egerton ( from Kingsman) and "HUGE ACKMAN" ( and says Hugh is really huge!)

E

[jo]

www.screendaily.com/reviews/eddie-the-eagle-review/5099544.article?blocktitle=REVIEWS&contentID=40296

'Eddie The Eagle': Review

29 January, 2016 | By Tim Grierson, Senior US Critic

Dir: Dexter Fletcher. US/UK. 2016. 106mins


Eddie The Eagle is aggressively likable, but this inspirational sports movie’s consistently breezy disposability ends up being a crutch as much as a selling point. Telling the story of Eddie Edwards, the unknown British ski jumper who captured the world’s imagination when he competed in the 1988 Winter Olympics, this enjoyable comedy makes some decent points about our warped perception of what constitutes athletic achievement. Still, Taron Egerton’s shtick-heavy performance as Eddie falls in line with a film that’s ultimately so concerned with going for superficial pleasures that they start to lose their novelty.


As sunny as Eddie The Eagle is, its greatest liability is that it never pushes itself, content to let an amiable true-life tale be turned into a generic genre exercise.

After its secret screening at the Sundance Film Festival, Eddie The Eagle will open in the US on February 28, landing in the UK a month later. Egerton, the star of Kingsman: The Secret Service, might attract viewers, but just as likely they’ll be drawn by Hugh Jackman in a supporting role. (Other name actors, such as Christopher Walken and Jim Broadbent, have tiny roles.) The real question is whether enough people will remember Edwards’ exploits nearly 30 years after the fact to want to see a movie about them. Eddie The Eagle’s feel-good tone will stir up some solid word of mouth, but the film’s small stakes may make it a more appealing small-screen affair.

Directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Dexter Fletcher (Sunshine On Leith) and produced by Matthew Vaughn (who directed Kingsman), Eddie The Eagle traces the quixotic journey of Eddie Edwards (Egerton), who from an early age was convinced he was going to be an Olympic athlete, an ambitious goal considering his noticeable lack of natural ability. But after being informed that he’s been cut from Britain’s downhill skiing team, he decides that perhaps he has a shot at the ski jump, a sport at which his countrymen aren’t strong. Recruiting a drunken former American star, Bronson Peary (Jackman), to be his coach, Eddie has his eyes set on the ’88 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada.

Edwards, who got the nickname “Eddie The Eagle” because of a joyful arm-flapping routine he’d deliver after successful jumps, didn’t win a medal at the Olympics, but he became a minor legend because of the enthusiasm he exuded, the thrill of participating more important than winning. (A good thing, given he finished dead last in the field.)

The affection that fans had for him was, in large part, an acknowledgment of Edwards as a real-life underdog, and Eddie The Eagle takes that notion and runs with it — in the process, running it into the ground.

To be sure, this can be an awfully sweet movie. Fletcher and screenwriters Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton dole out plenty of sports-movie clichés, squeezing them for every ounce of fun the filmmakers can muster. Not surprisingly, this comedy boasts a slight tongue-in-cheek tone that seems to be Fletcher’s way of owning up to the fact that he’s rifling through well-worn conventions. (Sometimes, that’s the joke of the scene, such as when Bronson’s past failures are recapped in knowingly overly-expository detail during a news broadcast.)

But Eddie The Eagle is marred by Egerton’s overly cutesy portrayal. Envisioning Edwards as a lovable nerd — always pushing his glasses back to the bridge of his nose, constantly offering a giddy thumbs-up when something good happens — the young actor makes the character lightly lovable throughout, his boundless optimism weirdly compelling. But Egerton’s performance is so broad that it becomes one-note, a bold choice but not a very successful one. The film views Eddie as such a goofy innocent that he’s more of a moppet than a truly heart-warming example of perseverance triumphing in the face of others’ negativity.

Jackman’s natural charisma goes a long way towards selling this sarcastic, eventually supportive coach who left the ski-jumping world in disgrace. Part cowboy, part ersatz motivational speaker — he helps Edwards visualise a successful jump by making him imagine he’s having sex with Bo Derek — Bronson is a sports-movie type just like Edwards, and Jackman brings a leavening sense of humour that gives the narrative familiarity a certain jolliness.

Eddie The Eagle’s pleasurable predictability is its greatest commodity, and Fletcher keeps things humming along at a nice pace so that we can practically bob our heads to the film’s steady rhythm. But the approach strips Edwards’ story of any complexity, the script awkwardly having characters tell him at the beginning of the movie that he’ll never be an Olympic athlete — dialogue that will, of course, be echoed in Edwards’ head later during crucial moments. He and Bronson both have obstacles they need to overcome, but Eddie The Eagle makes sure they do in the most frictionless way possible.

What made Eddie’s story so memorable is that, even though he wasn’t enormously talented, he had the will to push himself beyond his physical limitations. As sunny as Eddie The Eagle is, its greatest liability is that it never pushes itself, content to let an amiable true-life tale be turned into a generic genre exercise.


Production companies: Marv, Studio Babelsberg, Saville Productions
Worldwide distribution (outside UK): Fox, www.foxmovies.com
UK distribution: Lionsgate UK
Producers: Matthew Vaughn, Adam Bohling, David Reid, Rupert Maconick, Valerie Van Galder
Executive producers: Stephen Marks, Claudia Vaughn, Pierre Lagrange, Peter Morton, Zygi Kamasa
Screenplay: Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton, story by Simon Kelton, based on the life story of Eddie Edwards
Cinematography: George Richmond
Production design: Mike Gunn
Editor: Martin Walsh
Music: Matthew Margeson
Website: www.foxmovies.com/movies/eddie-the-eagle

Main Cast: Taron Egerton, Iris Berben, Tim McInnerny, Hugh Jackman, Keith Allen, Mark Benton, Jo Hartley

[jo]

blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/sundance-review-eddie-the-eagle-starring-taron-egerton-and-hugh-jackman-20160129

Sundance Review: 'Eddie The Eagle' Starring Taron Egerton And Hugh Jackman


The Playlist
By Russ Fischer | The Playlist

January 29, 2016 at 9:00AM


An uplifting new sports biopic is flying overhead, if only barely. "Eddie the Eagle" stars Taron Egerton as British ski jumper Michael "Eddie" Edwards, who landed on the British ski team for the 1988 Olympics despite a relative lack of training and athletic achievement.

Eddie "The Eagle," as he was dubbed after he celebrated one victory with some flappy dancing, is the everyman in an electric blue jumpsuit and hot pink goggles, a guy told repeatedly that he isn't an athlete, that "you're not Olympic material."

Athletic limitations be damned; Eddie soared by refusing to give up. This gentle comedy is more interested in doing justice to the spirit of his achievement and the style of late-'80s comedy than the details of his life, but the resulting confection is sweet and simple.




A script for the Eddie The Eagle story had flown around Britain for years, but when Matthew Vaughn ("X-Men: First Class," "Kingsman: The Secret Service") signed on to produce, the thing got made. Vaughn dropped his 'Kingsman' lead Taron Egerton into the title role, and while the actor is much better looking than Eddie ever was, making his bumblingly asexual relations with women somewhat difficult to accept, he brings a determined physicality and bottomless good humor to the part.

With big glasses and bigger underbite, Egerton ambles through the movie leading with his chin, mouth permanently scrunched into a focused frown. Eddie's peach-fuzz mustache and bushy haircut never look quite right on him. As the idea seems to be that Eddie doesn't look quite right anywhere, even in the air, that's an acceptable shortcoming. With the glasses magnifying his eyes to seemingly twice their real size, Egerton is an almost cartoonish vision. It's easy to like him.



Having worn leg braces for weak knees as a child, Eddie nonetheless grows up determined to be not merely an athlete, but an Olympian. Eventually settling on ski jumping as a vocation, in part because there are no other British ski jumpers, he heads to Germany to train.

Arriving virtually penniless, Eddie crashes in a bar near the training grounds. The sexually aggressive owner offers him a place to stay in exchange for menial work at the bar and possibly a little action at night. That flirtation/sexual harassment goes nowhere, however, leading one to wonder if the studio snipped a few things to create a more family-friendly film. This film is a lot like an '80s comedy, but that comedy is not "The Secret of My Success."

Grounds at the training camp are maintained by Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), a washed-up former champion and current drunk. ("This is my jacket," he says of his stars and stripes-emblazoned flask.) He's a snow cowboy, and he might also just be Wolverine. (Can Hugh Jackman ever not be Wolverine? Bronson seems to shake the earth when he first jumps out of his snow plow.)



You know how this goes. There are arguments and a training montage or two. There's a British Olympic committee chief who wears a frown as casually and constantly as a necktie, and who hates Eddie's workaday, blue-collar approach to sport. It's all performed with genial good nature by Egerton and Jackman, directed with a minimum of fuss by Dexter Fletcher. (Christopher Walken also makes a brief appearance, and is relatively direct in his delivery.)

A few big high points spike above everything else, two of which involve skiing. Only one of those two sequences amplifies emotions by adding a Thin Lizzy song. Thin Lizzy is like a cheat code for accessing good feelings. The tune in question is "Cowboy Song," the use of which shouldn't come as a surprise because by this point you will already have seen Hugh Jackman's cowboy boots.



Another good and familiar song juices up the big finale with poppy synth tones, too, but that one will remain unspoiled. The score, which features quite a few cues done in a faithful and exemplary '80s-synth style, hints at the finale song choice a few times so you probably won't be surprised by that one either. The score will quite possibly power private training montages for film nerds in the future, too.

The rest of "Eddie the Eagle" tends to exist in a somewhat narrow emotional range. This isn't "Rudy," and Eddie's "all is lost" moment isn't very low. We generally know how this moment will end, so his low point is difficult to craft. But even then, this version plays pretty airy.



Likewise, enmity between British Olympians and Eddie, despite being forecast as severe, turns out to be a minor squall. That's not so bad, really. In film after film, we've seen many scenes where good-looking champs are jerks to the underdog, and this movie gets by just fine without adding one more to the canon.

Regardless, "Eddie the Eagle" is a buoyant film, like "Rocky" on skis but a lot lighter — it's all about going the distance, not achieving a big win. Fletcher layers in nostalgic jokes and references (Eddie's victory dancing looks rather like Homer Simpson, and Bronson coaches using a "sex with Bo Derek" metaphor half the audience won't get) even as he omits some details to compress Eddie's history and make him out to be even less of a viable competitor than he was in real life.



"Eddie the Eagle" is as appealing and fluffy as a new pile of dry snow. The factual changes may bother the real Eddie, but this movie keeps its eye strictly on the image of achieving a thing no one expects you to achieve. "I love ski jumping," Eddie says, "almost as much as I love proving people wrong."

"Eddie The Eagle" was added as a surprise screening at the Sundance Film Festival. Click here for our complete coverage from the 2016 Sundance Film Festival.

[jo]

www.heyuguys.com/eddie-eagle-movie-review/

Eddie The Eagle Movie Review


By Andrew Jones -

Jan 29, 2016





Over the years the uplifting, soul-inspiring sports film has settled into a series of working beats with little ingenuity outside of that. A warm blanket of a film is often the result, unless someone really tries to break the mould (Hi there Unbroken, are you lost? The , door’s behind you.) However, there is one film that has united so many. That has been spoken of so highly even though if you were to look at it from an antiseptic, analytic perspective it’s just a simple formula-filled film that happens to have John Candy in it.

Cool Runnings is the peak of inspirational sport films. The story of four Jamaicans who want to run a bobsled at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary is held deep within the hearts of many generations at this point. Dexter Fletcher had his work cut out by taking the story of British ski jumper Eddie The Eagle, a man famous for being not-exactly prime Olympic material, and turning it into something that’s not Mike Leigh depressing, but not glossing over so much truth that the film sees Eddie raising a gold medal at the end just to make audiences not feel bad.

No, the story of Eddie The Eagle fits perfectly as the British equivalent of Cool Runnings. The determined, if foolish, endeavour of a few who make no assumptions of their ability, but dream large enough to move forward even when their bobsled crashes out, to turn Cool Runnings into a metaphor.




Dexter Fletcher’s Eddie The Eagle is a gleeful cinematic adaptation of humanity, though almost certainly fictionalised from beginning to end. It is to Fletcher’s and the screenplay’s credit that you’re never sat in the cinema thinking ‘there’s no way this happened…’. Rather you applaud the ways Eddie The Eagle tells a life story in a three act structure with ease and a cheeky smile all the way through.

From the jump Eddie The Eagle invites you to ride a wave of shamelessly fun 80s pop hits whilst little Eddie tries to succeed in a variety of sports and Olympic games before he finds his niche. When Taron Egerton appears as Eddie it becomes increasingly clear that he is a tried and true movie star. His ability to play a role deeply, whilst having the right glint in his eye to tell the audience we can have fun, not to take everything so seriously, is a refreshing and energising experience to watch.

This is matched perfectly as Hugh Jackman enters the film, which then coasts no longer on Egerton’s charisma but the chemistry of the two actors, who are a blast. Jackman’s grizzled washed-up coach, Egerton’s wide-eyed and naive dreamer, it’s such simplicity that works wonders for the film.




Fletcher’s directing is superb, a notch up from his previous two features, with some nice flourishes where you can tell the man wants to show off, and a lot of note-perfect humour and drama in any given scene. It benefits hugely from a crackling screenplay that rides cliché with a comprehension of why things work well, rather than ‘here’s something that works, so we’ll throw it in here’. There is also great support from the likes of Keith Allen, Jim Broadbent and even Christopher Walken really liven the film’s world and embrace the tone so well.

There’s no doubt that Eddie The Eagle is a joyful, inspiring film where your fist raises in triumph, but to be so wildly funny too is icing on the cake.

It’ll be hard to find many films as brilliant, deftly paced, tonally perfect and hysterical as Eddie The Eagle, which easily ousts Cool Runnings as the quintessential Olympics movie. Egerton is magnificent, Jackman is at the top of his game and Dexter Fletcher has surpassed his own oeuvre in one leap.

Beyond must-see, this is a film that will have you obsessively talking about tiny moments and grand scenes for months, if not years, after seeing it. Grab your skis, a jumpsuit and a CD compilation of 80s classics, it’ll be all you want to think about after Eddie The Eagle ends.


REVIEW OVERVIEW
Eddie The Eagle

SUMMARY
An undoubted triumph for Dexter Fletcher Eddie the Eagle is a must-see. Hilarious, heartfelt - this is one the best films of the year.


OVERALL SCORE : 5 Stars

Wow - big fan

[jo]

www.thewrap.com/eddie-the-eagle-review-hugh-jackman-taron-egerton-eddie-edwards/

‘Eddie the Eagle’ Review: Hugh Jackman Ski Tale Buries Audience in Avalanche of Feel-Good-Isms

Reviews | By Alonso Duralde on January 29, 2016 @ 6:00 am Follow @aduralde



If you can’t resist an inspirational sports tale – much less one with a training montage set to Hall and Oates – prepare to surrender to this mountain of snowy schmaltz

In the same way that British ski jumper Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards just wanted to compete in the Olympics with no thought of winning medals, the sports biopic “Eddie the Eagle” has no pretensions whatsoever about being art, or even necessarily good. It just wants to make you love it, from its uplifting bromides to a training montage set to Hall and Oates’ “You Make My Dreams.”

As cinema, it’s an avalanche of feel-good clichés, but as an audience-pleasing machine, it relentlessly pursues its goal and will probably win over viewers who surrender to it.

A childhood marked by knee problems and leg braces hasn’t stopped Eddie (Taron Egerton, “Kingsman: The Secret Service”) from his lifelong dream of competing in the Olympics. After improvised backyard attempts at track and field training fail spectacularly – we see one pair of ruined spectacles after another get tossed into a biscuit tin – he finally decides to pursue the Winter Olympics, becoming an adolescent skier of some repute.





When the posh snobs who run the British Olympic ski team conspire to keep working-class Eddie off the squad for the 1988 games in Calgary, Eddie discovers – in an “Air Bud”-worthy bit of plotting – that Britain hasn’t had a ski-jumper since the 1920s, and he becomes determined to make one successful landing in competition so that he can compete in Canada. This goal involves traveling to a training center in Germany where he crosses paths with a bunch of mean Scandinavians, as well as hard-drinking plow driver Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), who turns out to be a former US ski champ who frittered away his early promise.

You’ve probably already guessed that Eddie’s purity of spirit, can-do attitude and general gumption melts the frosty Bronson, who eventually becomes Eddie’s coach, and that hard work (and several more training montages) makes Eddie’s dreams come true. And who needs Olympic gold when you can finally get your father’s approval? Eddie seeks it from his own dad; Peary, from former coach and paternal surrogate Warren Sharp, played briefly by a somnambulant Christopher Walken.




Director Dexter Fletcher (it’s his third feature, but he’s spent the last 40 years acting in film and television) and screenwriters Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton never veer from formula, not even to the point of pushing that formula to new boundaries. But their work in competent, and Fletcher coaxes crowd-pleasing (if one-note) performances from his two leads, as well as from Jo Hartley (“This Is England”) as Eddie’s steadfast mum.

The ski footage isn’t going to make anyone forget “Downhill Racer,” but cinematographer George Richmond (“Kingsman: The Secret Service”) does allow us to teeter on the edge of Eddie’s skis as he makes his way from the 15m jump to the 40m to the 70m to – in competition in Calgary, no less – the vertiginous 90m. All of this is set to Matthew Margeson’s aggressively 1980s-flavored score of synth and drum machines, which sounds like a collaboration between Vangelis and Tangerine Dream, all stuffed into the same pair of parachute pants.

It's critic Duralde -- what do you expect smiley-rolleyes010

[jo]

www.liveforfilms.com/2016/01/29/review-eddie-the-eagle-packed-full-of-heart-and-humour/

Review: Eddie the Eagle – “Packed full of heart and humour”


Posted by Amanda Keats in Biopic, Comedy, Drama, Film, Headline, Review, Sport | 0 Comments






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Those of us not around in the Eighties (or those of us too young to be watching the Winter Olympics on TV at least) may not be too familiar with Eddie the Eagle. But many Brits do remember him and might be a little surprised by the fact that a film has been made about his life and short-lived Olympic career.

Starring Taron Egerton as Eddie, and with support from Hugh Jackman as his reluctant coach, this film somehow manages to be far more entertaining than perhaps you might expect. After all, Eddie is not exactly one of Britain’s biggest sporting heroes – yet that doesn’t mean his story isn’t still worth telling.

The portrayal of Eddie could so easily have descended into farce and mocking but there is evidently genuine affection from all involved. The story is incredibly sweet, as funny as it is touching, and director Dexter Fletcher makes sure that what audiences get is a tale of someone who is determined to do his very best and show the world what he’s made of. It’s about achieving your own goals, your own personal bests, irrespective of how that compares against those around you. It’s a story of resilience and determination, of not giving up, even when everyone tells you you can’t do something.

The film of Eddie the Eagle is focused more on what it can make you feel and less in the accuracy of Eddie’s story, but that doesn’t lessen the quality of it. This is no documentary and doesn’t pretend to be. If anything, it should send viewers off on further investigation into Eddie’s life so far and just what happened during those Winter Olympics in 1988.

Eddie the Eagle is a warm and fuzzy film, entirely endearing and with a great eighties soundtrack and visual feel. It’s packed full of heart and humour and is sure to leave you with a smile on your face and the urge to crack out some eighties classics on the Walkman you wish you still had in your possession. Joyous!

4 of 5 STARS

[mamaleh]

The Playlist's review asks, "Can Jackman ever not be Wolverine?". I guess critic Fischer never saw any of HJ's earlier non-X-MEN movies including LES MIZ, THE PRESTIGE, PRISONERS or especially THE FOUNTAIN. What a stupid thing to write.

Typical Duralde from Duralde, who has a hard time seeing the fun in anything. The story may be formulaic, but I doubt the performances are "one note."

Ellen

[jo]

weliveentertainment.com/welivefilm/eddie-the-eagle-review-by-ashley-menzel/

Eddie the Eagle Review by Ashley Menzel

by Ashley Menzel






Eddie the Eagle Review by Ashley Menzel


One of the most talked about films hot off its run at Sundance is Eddie the Eagle starring Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton. The film, based on a true story, chronicles the unlikely rise of an underdog athlete and his dreams of participating in the 1988 Winter Olympics in the ski jump. Paramount to the storytelling of this underdog is the incredible genuineness exuding from Egerton’s performance. He elevates the audience in his performance to champion the most unlikely of champions, Eddie Edwards, an awkward 22 year old from England, pursuing his dream of competing in the Olympic games. Reluctantly by his side is Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), the washed up drunkard former Olympian. This performance by Jackman is a true return to form, leaving the terrible memories of Pan and Chappie in the dust.

The film does a wonderful job of setting the scene and taking us back to a time period. The entire film is set up to embody that time period, from the synthesized music to the clothing to the text’s font used in throughout the film. It is apparent that the filmmakers wanted to transport and bring the audience back to a time period and really let Eddie shine in his time.



Egerton is transformed in this role into the awkward and determined Eddie Edwards. He is almost unrecognizable and in stark contrast to the character he played in Kingsmen. I always commend actors for reaching out of their comfort zone and what they are expected to do and try something completely different. What makes Egerton’s performance so great is his genuineness and eagerness to achieve his goals. He no longer is Taron Egerton, but transforms into the underdog with whom the audience and the world falls in love. His mannerisms and facial expressions are completely transformed. His performance is engaging and wholehearted. He believed in Eddie as much as Eddie believed in himself.

Alongside Egerton, Hugh Jackman played a reluctant coach and motivating force for Eddie. He was blunt and to the point with his coaching and never sugar-coated anything. It often provided the drive that Eddie needed in moments where he doubted himself. Jackman’s performance was great, but was still outshined by Egerton, but I think that is how it was intended. Afterall, Eddie is the hero. The chemistry between Jackman and Egerton is great. You can tell that they really enjoyed working with each other. They bounce well off of each other and convey a true connection. There also is a surprise actor in the film that I think many people will appreciate. I don’t want to spoil it for you.



The story of Eddie is such an inspiration and a feel-good film. It gives the incredible feeling that only a great sports film can truly give. It gets your adrenaline pumping, heart racing, revved up by the swelling music and sudden silence and the feeling that with hard work and determination, you can accomplish anything you desire. Eddie is such an outcast and is continually told that he can’t do something or that he isn’t good enough, but he doesn’t let that deter him from achieving his goal. The story has heart and emotion and really shows Eddie in such an incredibly human and genuine light.

The cinematography of the film is really interesting. I can’t imagine how difficult it had to be to get the shots that they needed at all the different angles that they needed for the jump shots. The whole film was shot in 8 weeks in Germany and England, according to director Dexter Fletcher. Overall, the film was a memorable and human look at an unlikely Olympian, reminding the audience that nothing is impossible, so long as you are willing to work at it.

Rating 8/10

?Editor Rating
Total Score
8.0

PAN as a movie has been heavily panned but the reviews highlighted that Hugh's BLACKBEARD was one of the saving graces!

I cannot believe these supposed film buffs have one-dimensional views of an actor's talent and versatility.

[jo]

variety.com/2016/film/reviews/eddie-the-eagle-review-1201691900/

Film Review: ‘Eddie the Eagle’

'Eddie the Eagle' Review: Taron Egerton,
January 29, 2016 | 07:05AM PT

Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman team up for this quirkily inspirational shaggy-dog biopic of British ski jumper Michael 'Eddie' Edwards.


Andrew Barker
Senior Features Writer




Blessed with pride, power and an ability to affably take a lot of crap off of everybody, British ski jumper Michael “Eddie” Edwards was one of several improbable figures to emerge as folk heroes after losing badly at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. The others, of course, were the four men on the Jamaican bobsled team, and if director Dexter Fletcher’s loose adaptation of Edwards’ story often seems content to mimic “Cool Runnings” beat for beat, at least it picks a bar it can safely clear. Never quite nailing the off-kilter vibe it sporadically seems to seek, but functioning reasonably well as a quirkily inspirational shaggy-dog biopic, “Eddie the Eagle” has no real chance of medaling at the box office. But its cute flourishes and gamely broad performances from Taron Egerton (as Edwards) and Hugh Jackman (as his fictional coach) could make it a sentimental success for family audiences.

Recognizable by his thick glasses, blonde mustache and untraditionally athletic stature, Edwards responded to his elimination from Britain’s downhill-ski team by taking up ski jumping, a sport whose last British representative competed back in 1929. Lacking any competition from his homeland, Edwards not only qualified for the Calgary Olympics while still essentially a novice, but also managed to attract huge amounts of publicity and “noble failure” fandom from his two last-place finishes, much to the horror of the sport’s purists. Edwards’ story is better known in the U.K. than Stateside, and though “Eddie the Eagle” takes rather enormous liberties with its real-life inspiration, the rough outlines survive intact.

In the film’s first reel, we see the young Edwards (played as a child by Tom Costello and Jack Costello) as a lifelong Olympics obsessive forever in search of a sport to pursue. Eventually he settles on skiing, to the annoyance of his working-class father (Keith Allen), who wants little Eddie to follow in the family plastering business. But when the twentysomething Edwards (Egerton) is cut from the Olympic ski team by a punctilious official (Mark Benton), he’s once again forced to redirect his dreams, and impulsively heads off to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, to try his feet at ski jumping.

Twisting his torso into unusual angles and affecting a huge underbite, Egerton plays Edward as such a childlike innocent — teetotaling, guileless, edgeless, sexless — that he sometimes appears less a man-child than an actual child. (In one of the numerous jokey setups that the film introduces without following through with an actual punchline, Edwards is propositioned by a hot-to-trot German bar owner, played by Iris Berben, and he responds with a mixture of terror and utter incomprehension.) It’s enough to make him a bit much to take in the early going, but the performance becomes far more palatable with the introduction of its opposite: the grizzled Jackman as Bronson Peary, a onetime ski-jump hotshot now reduced to driving a snowplow in Garmisch, his hip-flask always at the ready.

Initially annoyed by the hapless interloper, Peary is predictably worn down by Edwards’ earnestness and willingness to hurl himself down the ramp without any idea what he’s doing, and agrees to become his unorthodox trainer. (Among his teachings: a lengthy comparison of the takeoff to sex, which gives Jackman a chance to go full Meg Ryan to illustrate.) Meanwhile the other ski jumpers in town, especially the nudity-loving Norwegian team and the frosty Finnish superstar Matti Nykanen (Edvin Endre), shower the two with disdain. (Intriguingly, the real-life Nykanen and Edwards would both go on to release Finnish-language pop songs within months of one another in the early 1990s, one of several cases in which the facts of Edwards’ actual life prove far funnier and more surreal than any of the the fictional details cooked up by the film’s screenwriters.)

Overlong complications ensue, but by the time the film finally gets Edwards to the Olympics, the pace picks up substantially. For a figure from the 1980s, Edwards was a thoroughly 21st-century type of celebrity, the sort of “regular guy” viral sensation whose popularity suggested more than a hint of condescension. At its best, “Eddie the Eagle” also tries to grapple with Edwards’ position in the sport: Was Eddie ultimately just a sideshow, stealing the brief, quadrennial spotlight from more talented athletes who spent their whole lives training for it? Or was his commitment in the face of preordained failure an example of the sort of amateur spirit that the modern games had begun to lose? The film may come down on the latter side with sledgehammer certainty, but at least it briefly entertains the question.

The pic gets quite a lot of mileage out of several note-perfect musical choices — Matthew Margeson’s cheeky synth score could have been taken from a number of 1980s ski-ploitation pics, while soundtrack appearances from Thin Lizzy and Hall & Oates couldn’t be better employed — and Fletcher includes just enough odd angles and quirky compositions to suggest a slightly stranger, loopier vision for this film lurking somewhere beneath. The director also does effective work to emphasize the danger of Edwards’ jumps, whether by framing the 90-meter ramp like Godzilla looming in the distance, or splicing in some vertiginous first-person views from a newly airborne jumper.


Film Review: 'Eddie the Eagle'

Reviewed at AMC Century City 15, Los Angeles, Jan. 28, 2016. (In Sundance Film Festival — Townie Tuesday Screening.) MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 105 MIN.

Production

(U.K.-U.S.-Germany) A 20th Century Fox (in U.S.) release and presentation, in association with Marv, of a Matthew Vaughn production, with Studio Babelsberg and Saville Prods. Produced by Vaughn, Adam Bohling, David Reid, Rupert MaConick, Valeria Van Galder. Executive producers, Stephen Marks, Claudia Vaughn, Pierre LaGrange, Peter Morton, Zygi Kamasa.

Crew

Directed by Dexter Fletcher. Screenplay, Sean Macauley, Simon Kelton, from a story by Kelton. Camera (color), George Richmond; editor, Martin Walsh; music, Matthew Margeson; production designer, Mike Gunn; set decorator, Naoimi Moore; costume designer, Annie Hardinge; sound (Dolby Atmos), John Hayes; re-recording mixers, Chris Burdon, Matthew Coolinge; visual effects supervisor, Matt Kasmir; assistant director, Jack Ravenscroft; casting, Reginald Poerscout-Edgerton.

With

Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Jo Hartley, Keith Allen, Tom Costello, Jack Costello; Mark Benton, Edvin Endre, Rune Temte, Iris Berben, Jim Broadbent, Christopher Walken.

[jo]

wegotthiscovered.com/movies/eddie-the-eagle-review/

Eddie The Eagle Review


By Matt Donato 1 hour ago



Review of: Eddie The Eagle Review

movies: Matt Donato


Reviewed by: Matt Donato
Rating:

4 of 5 stars


On January 29, 2016






Summary:


Eddie The Eagle is a crowd-pleasing triumph about one of Britain's lesser-known Olympic heroes, and the dream he wouldn't let die.





Just when I thought the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics couldn’t get any better than Jamaican bobsledders, Eddie The Eagle comes along and spreads the legend of Britain’s ski-jumping wunderkind, Michael “Eddie” Edwards. “But Matt, how can movies about the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics get any better than Cool Runnings?” I hear you ask. Great question, person way too into bobsledding – but I promise it does.

Dexter Fletcher (you know, Pinky from Doom?) patriotically waves his British flag while bringing the story of Eddie Edwards to life, capturing the reckless determination that made a young boy’s dreams come true. This wide-eyed young jumper taught a nation what it meant to be alive, and redefined how we view success – lessons learned through bumps, bruises, and healthy mouthfuls of snow.

Taron Egerton plays the young Eddie Edwards, as we follow his journey to Olympic fame. His hopes of joining the downhill team are quickly squashed, however, when pompous decision-makers deem his quirky qualities not that of a champion, but Edwards will hear none of it. After discovering that Britain has no ski-jump team, he takes to Germany, where he plans to train until landing a qualifying jump that should seal an Olympic bid. But with no prior experience jumping, Eddie finds himself at a severe (and dangerous) disadvantage – until the facility’s American mountain groomer reveals himself to be a previous Olympian. Eddie convinces Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman) to be his coach, after ample begging, and the duo begin their quest to Canada’s Winter Olympics.

Eddie is an odd fellow, and Egerton is asked to play a character who’s everything his breakout role, Kingsmen‘s Eggsy, is not. The high-spirited skier sports thick-rimmed glasses, bounces about with an awkward energy, and never quite had luck with the ladies, yet Egerton pulls his characterization off with ease. A certain skepticism hit me when the bumbling goofball first turned up, I must admit. Doubts led me to believe that Egerton wouldn’t be able to carry the charade through all 105 minutes, but here I am, proven horribly wrong. Egerton turns the twenty-something’s social ineptitude into a lovable charm, and creates a wonderfully cheer-worthy hero who dares to make us dream bigger. A star was already born in Kingsmen: Secret Service, so let’s say a star is reborn in Taron Egerton, who owns the slopes and the screen.

While this film is all about Eddie Edwards, a few supporting players make their presence known. Hugh Jackman, who plays Edwards’ hard-drinking, big-headed coach, does a splendid job mixing drunken advice with tender moments of genuine investment in Eddie’s betterment. He’s also the only man who can make ski-jumping look badass and sexy at the same time, in a ridiculous, yet righteous moment where he flies through the night in spandex-tight jeans. Leave it to the Australian to play a disgraced American, but Jackman compliments Egerton’s oddities with stone-cold chillness. He’s a man so cool that he calls alcohol his “jacket.”

Jo Hartley, who portrays Eddie’s mum, Janette, is an absolute delight, as she supports her son’s blind ambition without question. The familial relationship shared between the two is recognizably sappy, and a tad bit insane, but it’s charged with raw, lovely emotion, and engulfs you like a puffy winter coat. Eddie’s father’s constant nay-saying only makes Janette’s actions all the more sweet, as, dare I say, her motherly belief in Eddie choked me up a bit?

A host of other varying characters come in to either knock Eddie’s determination, or reaffirm his views on achievement. Edvin Endre, who plays World Champion Matti Nykänen, spouts some brief wisdom before Eddie takes on Calgary’s 90-meter behemoth, and explains, through a heavy Finnish accent, that medals don’t matter when you’re doing what you love (or something like that). This is the heart of Eddie The Eagle, as we’re reminded that accomplishments don’t have to be gold-medal victories when passion pushes you. In a world where we’re told “If you ain’t first, you’re last” (paraphrasing via Ricky Bobby), we need subtle reminders about how happiness can be achieved on smaller, more attainable levels that are reflected personally.

Fletcher’s style airs on the side of light-hearted buffoonery, as Eddie’s journey is more likely to plaster a grin on faces than compete with Unbroken. A constantly-rocking 80s soundtrack blares from synthy keytars, as Fletcher is able to include Van Halen’s “Jump” and NOT have us roll our eyes. The soundtrack, coupled with ski-bum stylings, makes for a thrilling usage of extreme sports, and more importantly, we feel the imposing presence of these tremendous ski-jumping platforms. Fletcher is able to capture some breathtaking views as Eddie looks down, contemplating his choices, and then a Speed Racer view kicks in, as the background flies by Eddie’s pastel-colored helmet. What a rush.

Moral of the story: I really enjoyed Eddie The Eagle. It’s a fun, lively story about taking charge of the life you desire, and embracing the struggle it takes to get there. Taron Egerton shines bright as Eddie Edwards, not to discredit Hugh Jackman’s hilarious machismo, but there’s so much more to Eddie than first impressions let on. Dexter Fletcher’s soaring accomplishment is the feel-good movie of the season, making audiences cheer for a British ski-jumper they probably never knew existed. This is heartfelt, empowering filmmaking, lifted by an enthusiastic embrace of the human spirit – now where’s my Eddie The Eagle/Cool Runnings crossover?!

[jo]

From the eyes of the Brits themselves (EMPIRE)--

www.empireonline.com/movies/eddie-eagle/review/

Eddie The Eagle Review


Olly Richards
29 Jan 2016 17:08

Last updated: 29 Jan 2016 17:30
Release date
28 Jan 2016
Movie
Eddie The Eagle


Based on the true story of Eddie Edwards (Taron Egerton), a plumber from Cheltenham who had dreams of making it to the 1988 Winter Olympics, as Great Britain’s first-ever Olympic ski jumper.

4 of ★★★★★


They say that God loves a trier. If that’s true then Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards will be guaranteed a seat at Heaven’s top table when he eventually skids off his mortal coil. At the 1988 Winter Olympics, Edwards became the first person ever to represent Great Britain in ski jumping. That’s not to say he was actually any good at it. It’s no spoiler to say he was not victorious. Far from it. Yet, encapsulating the typical British approach to sport, Edwards charged on optimistically against all likelihood of victory and came home a hero, no medals weighing him down as he was hoisted on the nation’s collective shoulder.

“ Hugh Jackman makes a great foil for his co-star, playing about a seven on his scale of gruff irritation, if we’re taking Wolverine as a ten.
”

Dexter Fletcher has turned Edwards’ story into a comedy of soaring delights, a sports movie where it’s genuinely the taking part that counts. Through Wild Bill and Sunshine On Leith, Fletcher has shown himself a director who likes to hope for a happy ending, whatever gloom might block it from view, which makes him the ideal match for this material. There is an easier film that could have been made here, one that played Edwards’ failures for laughs. He is inherently easy to mock, watching from behind bottle-thick glasses as everyone in his field sails beyond his abilities. Yet Edwards is very rarely the butt of the joke, at least for the audience. He’s treated as a hero, and not because he might win (because he won’t), but because he achieves his dreams by his own hard work.

As a physically disabled child Edwards doesn’t accept that competing in the Olympics might be beyond him. When he finds a sport that might get him there he doesn’t accept that the UK team doesn’t want him. It’s all much more exciting than if he achieved his goals through natural talent. Evidently quite a lot of the story is fabricated, like the entirely fictional coach (Hugh Jackman) settling old scores with the sport, but there’s no damage done by the half-truths. The point is what Edwards did, which would seem to be largely accurate, not who helped him on the way. The inventions, by debut screenwriters Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton, slot happily with the truth. Fletcher has a ball playing with the standards of the sports movie: training montages, bullying rivals, the lot.



Taron Egerton is charm personified as Eddie. He doesn’t caricature his eccentricities and keeps a glint of optimism even as the obstacles look insurmountable. Jackman makes a great foil, playing about a seven on his scale of gruff irritation, if we’re taking Wolverine as a ten. They sell their mission and their friendship so hard that by the time it comes to Eddie’s big moment, teetering at the top of a potential fatal drop, you’re willing him, internally screaming him, to victory even though you know there’s no chance. As a man he may never have made the podium, but as a movie Eddie The Eagle flies.


Eddie The Eagle turns a long-running joke of British sport into a crowd-pleasing story of inspiration. It’s a solid gold winner.

[jo]

Another

collider.com/eddie-the-eagle-review-hugh-jackman-taron-egerton/

‘Eddie the Eagle’ Review: An Underdog Sports Movie Destined to Become a Classic

by Perri Nemiroff  4 hours ago




The world needs more movies like Eddie the Eagle. If you’re looking for a little motivation, director Dexter Fletcher’s approach to this wildly inspiring story will undoubtedly leave you with a pep in your step and the feeling that you can achieve your dreams as well.

Taron Egerton leads as the title character, Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, born Michael Edwards. Eddie’s been dreaming of becoming an Olympian ever since he was a kid. He practiced holding his breath underwater, pole-vaulting and absolutely anything else that could possibly pave the way to an Olympic appearance. Trouble is, bad knees, poor eyesight and a lack of natural athleticism kept him from excelling at most sports. He came close to making it as a downhill skier, but fell short in that category as well. But then Eddie found a loophole. There were no other British ski jumpers so all he had to do was land a particular jump and he’d become the only British ski jumper at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary.

That’s a serviceable overview, but it doesn’t even scratch the surface of the complexity of Eddie’s journey, which is riddled with naysayers and physical and financial obstacles. You need some motivation to beat the odds? Watch Eddie the Eagle. Not only is Eddie shunned by the British Olympic Association and the other ski jumpers at his training facility, but his own father won’t even give him the benefit of the doubt. However, none of that is a match for Eddie’s unshakable and infectious optimism.




Eddie’s a bit of a kooky character and Egerton hams it up a good deal, but when you pair those eccentricities with the style and tone of the film, it all comes together in way that feels surprisingly honest and natural. Yes, Eddie the Eagle has the obligatory training montage, but the movie isn’t about some guy who trains non-stop and becomes a champion. It’s about someone who finds his own unique form of success simply by believing in himself, and that’s what makes Eddie the Eagle hit home more so than the large majority of sports movies out there. Eddie’s road to the Olympics may be filled with loads of twists and turns, but ultimately, Eddie the Eagle is a rather straightforward story about success via positive thinking and determination, something that we’re all capable of.

Fletcher does a brilliant job blending Eddie’s rather goofy behavior with the intensity of the sport. Matthew Margeson whipped up a fantastic synth-heavy score that suits the 80s setting and also gives the film an especially jovial feel, which is right in line with Eddie’s cheerful disposition. However, that never stops Fletcher from reminding the viewer how dangerous ski jumping is. Not only do we see quite a few vicious crashes, a number of which involve and injure Eddie, but there are also plenty of shots of monstrous ramps that’ll make you queasy even when the slopes are silent and no one’s going down them.

Fletcher’s shot selection is on point from start to finish and he captures Eddie’s runs down the ramps exceptionally well, but a big reason his attempts to nail the 40 and 70-meter ramps are so affecting is because Fletcher and screenwriters Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton really take the time to dig into how dangerous the sport is and what it takes to become a successful ski jumper. The jumps are nerve-wracking enough when Eddie is training himself and somewhat haphazardly mimicking the best, but thanks to one very silly yet especially informative and unforgettable scene, you wind up with a comprehensive understanding of proper ski jumping form so every time Eddie goes down the ramp from that point on, it’s about far more than just sticking the landing, upping the intensity of those jumps tenfold.




The reason Eddie is able to kick his ski jumping up a notch is Hugh Jackman’s character, Bronson Peary. Back in the day, Peary was one of the most promising members of Warren Sharp’s (Christopher Walken) US Olympic ski jumping team, but he got the boot due to his lack of focus and inability to follow the rules. Now he does maintenance work at a training facility and struts around without a jacket because, as he proudly proclaims, his flask is his jacket. There’s really nothing revelatory about the guy and the performance is very reminiscent of Jackman’s work in Real Steel, but the actor made for a great former champ-turned-trainer in that and he does the exact same thing right here. Jackman and Egerton have tons of chemistry and their relationship benefits from the fact that, beyond a passion for ski jumping, Peary and Eddie are two very different people. Both have good qualities and some less desirable ones, and you can see them affect and change each other as the story moves forward.

Fletcher and his team definitely took some liberties in adapting the true story so it’s hard not to wonder what a version that stuck to the facts and perhaps had a more serious tone might have looked like, but in assessing Eddie the Eagle as a standalone entity, the film is exceptional. It treads into silly and sappy territory every once in a while, but thanks to Fletcher’s steadfast direction, almost all of it winds up feeling appropriate and serves the experience as a whole quite well. There is no stopping a film with this much heart. It’s the quintessential crowd-pleaser, brimming with so much positivity that it’ll truly leave you feeling hopeful about your own endeavors when it’s over.

Grade : A-

Wolvie and Charlie Kenton both ?


Jo

[jo]

www.joblo.com/movie-news/review-eddie-the-eagle-sundance-2016-169-02

Review: Eddie the Eagle (Sundance 2016)
5 hours ago by: Chris Bumbray


PLOT: The true story of Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards (Taron Egerton). A humble plasterer by trade, Eddie pursues his Olympic dream by qualifying as Britain’s most accomplished ski jumper, which proves to be relatively easy as it’s a sport the UK has never competed in.

REVIEW: As far as Olympic Games go, Calgary 1988 seemed to be a whopper. Not only was it the year of the Jamaican bobsledding team that was immortalized in COOL RUNNINGS (they get a shout-out here) but it was also the year the bespectacled Eddie “The Eagle” won more than a few hearts by participating in the games despite little-to-no experience in the sport he competed-in.



Certainly, it’s something that could never happen now (Eddie’s reign resulted in some hasty rule changes) but the story has all the classic makings of an underdog story – so much so that it’s crazy a film hasn’t been made about him sooner. Taron Egerton’s Eddie is a plucky hero, with little athletic talent, horrible eyesight and only his self-esteem to guide him on his quest. While the filmmakers haven’t done a perfect job disguising Egerton’s matinee-idol looks, he’s very engaging and shows solid comic chops. Sporting coke-bottle glasses that always look about to fall off his nose and a clumsy shuffle, he’s a good-natured hero, making this a classic British underdog story very much in the mold of THE FULL MONTY.

Producer Matthew Vaughn obviously has faith in Egerton’s appeal as a leading man, with this being their follow-up to the hit KINGSMAN – THE SECRET SERVICE. It’s a nice change-of-pace that should help Egerton avoid being pigeonholed as a heartthrob. Director Dexter Fletcher (a former actor-turned-director) directs this very much in-the-style of an eighties comedy, with an upbeat, synthy score by Matthew Margeson (with tons of pop tunes – such as Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s ‘Two Tribes’), a colorful look (lots of pinks and powder blues) and clearly defined heroes and villains.



As a result, this is an uncomplicated, audience-pleasing story that should become a sleeper hit this winter. It’s pretty clear why Fox would want to preview this at the Sundance Film Festival (where it’s the secret screening) and word-of-mouth should be great. One thing that will certainly help is Hugh Jackman, who co-stars as a drunken ski-bum/former ski-jump champ, who takes Eddie under-his-wing. It’s refreshing to see Jackman having so much fun outside of the tent pole genre, and he seems to relish the part. His chemistry with Egerton is solid, and the two seem like a natural pair, making the central relationship easy to invest in. In addition to Jackman the other big name here is Christopher Walken, who shows up as a legendary ski coach and Jackman’s former mentor. Walken plays it as only he can, and while he only really has one scene, he’s a fun addition to the cast. Jim Broadbent also has an extended cameo as a olympic commentator amused by Eddie’s antics.

If EDDIE THE EAGLE has any failing it’s that at times it aims for the heartstrings a little too obviously. Eddie’s such an earnest guy that a somewhat more three-dimensional exploration might have made the film more interesting – although then again this is meant to warm the heart and not much else. In that regard, it’s wholly successful and a good family yarn that deserves to find a big audience. It’s certainly a nice antidote to some of the heavier Sundance fare and a nice late festival treat.

7 of 10 stars

Sundance was perfect to show this movie to the world.

Sundance is where the independent spirit lives!

Sundance is where its own snowy mountains and cheering film fans make an excellent setting to view this story ( with its backdrop of snow and fans who cheered on Eddie the Eagle!)

[jo]

www.flickeringmyth.com/2016/01/movie-review-eddie-the-eagle-2016.html

Movie Review – Eddie the Eagle (2016)

January 29, 2016 by Simon Columb —0 Comments







Eddie the Eagle, 2016.

Directed by Dexter Fletcher.
Starring Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken and Tim McInnerny.

Eddie the Eagle poster

SYNOPSIS:

Charting the Olympic career of famous UK ski-jumper Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards…



Inspiration is a funny thing. Idols who achieve feats we can’t comprehend are on a different planet. Inspirations are easier to understand. We’re inspired by the tough goal they’ve set for themselves and realistically appreciate their tenacity in hitting the target. We think we could do it ourselves. Eddie the Eagle has a huge heart and celebrates the enthusiastic passion of a wannabe Olympian, Michael “Eddie the Eagle” Edwards. First and foremost, Eddie the Eagle is a comedy, laughing with, and at, Michael Edwards, the UK’s entry for ski-jumping. But there is a conflict. Is Eddie achieving a feat we can’t comprehend or is he simply managing to do something nobody else cares to do? As a third option, is Dexter Fletcher’s light-hearted Eddie the Eagle laughing at an enthusiastic kid, trying so hard, but laughably being accepted only as a mere joke.

Eddie the Eagle is immersed in nostalgia. Memories of BBC’s Record Breakers litters the soundtrack, scored by Matthew Margeson. Interspersed with Deacon Blue and Van Halen, the era is the flamboyantly coloured, ill-fitting, late 1980’s. Eddie is obsessed with the Olympics, but he’s clumsy. Lacking the refined posture and formal presentation of the skiers selected to compete, he’s told in no uncertain terms that he doesn’t have the Olympic spirit to truly reach such lofty heights. But, he realises, there is a sport that the UK have no hand in. A terrifying, daring sport where competitors need to ski, and jump off, an enormous height. This is a jump that the UK don’t even have the equipment to support, forcing Eddie to travel to Germany, to practice. But he has no experience. Hurting himself, he spies an American ex-champion who can help. Enter Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), and reluctantly, he trains Eddie to become the first British ski-jumper, who could – by default – become a new record-setter for the UK.



With the rush of a water slide, the ski-jumping context is a thrill. Shooting down the track, bursting into the air and touching the sky, before falling to the biggest challenge: landing. The freezing climate and life-threatening challenge seems to capture the spirit of Rocky, put places it on Mount Everest. With a touch of Dodgeball comedy to sew it all together, Eddie the Eagle does elicit a wide-grin with a punching-the-air pay off that’s incredibly uplifting. It’s a positive tale of hard work with little heartache. A clear, title-carded structure safely builds momentum in the story too: The jumps begin at 15 metres; then 40 and 70 metres; finally, the death-defying 90 metres. With a Cool Runnings reference subtly placed (both true sports stories taking place in 1988), Fletcher is trying to capture a British zeitgeist. Rather than a Jamaican bobsleigh team, it’s a pattern-jumper-clad, cups-of-tea-obsessed British ski-jump team.

Taron Egerton plays a sweet, bumbling lad, a far call from the street-smart Kingsman agent last year. Indeed, his performance is so markedly different to his previous role, Eddie the Eagle feels more like a showcase for his talent rather than a vehicle for Hugh Jackman. Jackman portrays a lost man, finding solace at the end of a bottle. The two actors blend together well and, as intended, its fun to be in their company. But despite the championing of Eddie, and his moral victory over the snobby winter sportsmen that surround him, the film doesn’t necessarily hold the same respect.



This is where it sits unevenly for me. When we see his cheap, ramshackle bedroom it reinforces Eddie’s klutz persona. His uncomfortable mumble highlighting a lack of social skills and, perhaps, education. Laughing at him, it sometimes feels as if his working-class roots and unrealistic ambition are being mocked. The superior athletes are more accomplished, but what they mock, the story of Eddie the Eagle seems to be laughing at too. Writers Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton have taken an enormous amount of creativity to tell this story, but perhaps this element reveals their truest intentions.

Ignoring this slight concern, Eddie the Eagle is the tale of a lucky lad, with a perseverance few people have. Eddie’s an outsider, and this could be a social-issue, or it could be his oddball personality. He wins us over through Taron Egerton’s charming performance and, when he soars, we’re up there with him. Eddie the Eagle ensures we hold a big smile on our face when the credits roll, this positive, inspirational message alone forgives some slightly uneven elements.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★

[hughmanity]

www.liveforfilms.com/2016/01/29/review-eddie-the-eagle-packed-full-of-heart-and-humour/

[jo]

www.tracking-board.com/eddie-the-eagle-film-review-an-underdog-movie-that-soars/

Eddie The Eagle Film Review: An Underdog Movie That SoarsJanuary 29, 2016
eddie-eagle-1

Tweetable Takeaway: “Eddie The Eagle” will make you laugh, cry, and want to buy a cute ski jumping outfit from the ’80s. Tweet


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Audiences love a good underdog movie. One of those movies that can inspire us to never give up on our dreams. Sometimes those movies are genuinely tear-jerking, while other times they’re smothered in so much cheese that they become unintentional parodies of the genre. EDDIE THE EAGLE straddles the line between the two, but leans more towards the warm and fuzzy rather than the sappy and silly.

The movie follows the life of Michael “Eddie” Edwards (Taron Egerton), who is based on the real-life ski-jumper of the same name. From the moment we are introduced to him, he is clearly the typical underdog with a determined heart of gold — but with Eddie, he goes an extra mile to show you how resilient he is. As a child, his knee is in a brace. In other words, he is going to have a lot of obstacles to overcome.

From the get go, he has dreams of becoming an Olympian. He starts training from a very young age. No matter how clumsy the results and no matter how many accidents he has while training, he remains confident that he will someday become an Olympian. He finally finds his groove in downhill skiing (although he isn’t the best at it) and when he gets old enough, he attempts to try out for the 1987 British Olympic team. He’s essentially told that he’s too weird and not good enough to join the team.

But just when we think he’s going to give up, Eddie discovers the art of ski jumping. So he decides to give that a whirl. He goes to Germany to train and befriends Bronson Peary, the gruff man who maintains the ski jumps. When he finds out that Bronson was once an all-star ski jumper for the American Olympic team, he relentlessly tries to talk him into being his coach. Bronson reluctantly agrees, thus beginning Eddie’s journey to the Olympics. Yes, all of this sounds like a paint-by-number sports underdog movie, but it’s the overwhelming amount of heart that makes the movie golden.

eddie-eagle-2

Set in the ’80s, Eddie the Eagle is a sports film, but it is also a period film. The script was floating around Hollywood for the past 15 years or so and it finally landed in the hands of director Dexter Fletcher, who created an entire universe that echoes ’80s sports films like Personal Best and All The Right Moves as well as underdog pics like Karate Kid and Lucas. From the font used in the opening credits to the synth-drenched score and the ironic use of Van Halen’s “Jump” during one of the movie’s pivotal scene, it’s these details that heighten the movie’s tone. It makes you invest and buy into Eddie’s fearless, heartfelt, and kind of bizarre approach to his dream of becoming an Olympian.

As said, the movie dips one and a half feet into the tug-at-your-heartstrings pool, and half a foot into the silly pond. When I say silly, I am referring to Eddie. He is a little — how should I put this — quirky. By quirky, I mean nerdy — but I wouldn’t want it any other way. He is unlike any underdog sports hero that you’ve ever seen on screen. He has thick glasses, he’s a little schlumpy, and he isn’t exactly the spitting image of an athlete — but none of that matters. He’s a fumbling guy that you want to root for–and Egerton does a fine job avoiding turning Eddie into a parody. Just when he is about to take the character into Saturday Night Live sketch territory, he reels it in just enough to avoid skewering the real Eddie Edwards.

To Egerton’s Eddie is Hugh Jackman’s Bronson Peary, a character created to serve the story. Granted, Jackman did a great job portraying what is probably an amalgamation of coach-like figures in Eddie’s life, but you can tell that Bronson’s character is fictional. He almost comes across as a disgruntled Fairy Godfather that only Eddie can see. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but throughout the entire movie all I could think was, “So this is what would happen if Wolverine moved to Germany and became a ski jump maintenance worker.” Jackman’s Bronson was uncannily similar to his Logan with a lighthearted touch… and he didn’t have any of that Adamantium claw stuff going on.

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Eddie the Eagle doesn’t serve up anything groundbreaking to the canon of underdog sports movies, but it does contribute some badly needed optimism to what current mainstream entertainment has to offer. There’s enough gloom, sadness, hostility, shaming, and negativity out there; a movie with hope and heart doesn’t hurt anybody, and there’s a chance it’ll make even the biggest cynic out there crack a smile. And if that doesn’t do it for you, Christopher Walken makes a brief appearance as Bronson’s coach. So there’s that.

Eddie Edwards’s story is a testimony to the old saying: “It’s not how about winning or losing, it’s how you play the game.” Sure, it’s cliche, but given the current cultural atmosphere, it’s a cliche that a lot of people should consider right about now.


Score: 3 out of 5

[jo]

Written by the chief film critic for PulseRadio --


pulseradio.fm/2016/01/28/eddie-the-eagle-movie-review/

Eddie the Eagle Movie Review

Justin Lyons January 28, 2016 Entertainment, Movie Reviews 0 Comments



It’s that time again! I’m back for another movie review presented by FatCats Gilbert located on the southwest corner of Greenfield and Baseline!




It is Thursday, but it’s not your average Thursday. Instead of a Throwback Thursday, today I’ll be reviewing Eddie the Eagle, a new film being released on the 26th of February. I got to check this one out a little bit early, so I’m very excited to talk about it. When I first heard about this movie I knew I was excited for it. If you saw my Top 52 Most Anticipated Movies of the Year then you know it was my number forty most anticipated film of the year. Taron Egerton is someone I think is a future star. He was absolutely amazing in Kingsman: The Secret Service, and I’ve always wondered what it would be like to see someone who is a future star early in their career and know that they would be big one day. I’ve felt that with Taron Egerton and Michael B. Jordan, and those two belong in an elite group of actors. I also love Hugh Jackman. How can you not love the Wolverine? I also love me a good biopic, and I’m a sucker for a sports movie, so I can’t stress enough that I’m actually psyched about this movie. With that being said, let’s talk about it!




Eddie the Eagle is directed by Dexter Fletcher, who is mostly known for being an actor as compared to a director, and stars Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, and Christopher Walken. Eddie the Eagle is the story of the first ski jumper in the Olympics from the country of Great Britain, Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards. After so much denial and disappointment as a downhill skier, with the help from a legendary ski jumper and coach played by Hugh Jackman, Eddie will try to prove everyone who doubted him wrong and make his country proud in the highest athletic stage in the world, the Winter Olympics.




This is the first film about ski jumping that I’ve seen, and it’s actually the first one that I’ve even known about. I really think that Taron Egerton is on his way to prominence, and Hugh Jackman has been there since he was the Wolverine in 2000’s X-Men. Hugh Jackman is someone I feel like everyone likes. He’s just such a likable and awesome guy. Both he and Egerton are very good in their respective roles. Egerton portrays a struggling skier who has always dreamed of being an Olympian. He didn’t care which sport he went for, but he was so driven and determined to go to the Olympics and represent himself and his country. Egerton is so likable in the role, and the struggle he goes through really helps you get behind the character. Jackman was also good portraying Egerton’s coach, and we see his character develop quite a bit, and Jackman handles that transition very well. The movie is also very well shot. It feels like I’m right there with Eddie, and the ski jumping stunts were really great! I love the way that the movie is shot when it comes to the ski jumping scenes, and with very solid filmmaking, I thought Dexter Fletcher did such a great job telling the story. I thought that he did a very good job portraying the mood. In scenes where Eddie succeeds, it’s very bright, and in scenes where Eddie is not succeeding, it’s pretty dark, and you feel the disappointment coming. What will really bring you into this movie are the characters. Eddie is someone who is so easy to cheer for. I’m a sucker for a sports movie, and this one really delivers the characters we love in sports movies. It makes us want to prove the doubters wrong, and it makes us hope for Eddie.




I really did like Eddie the Eagle, but for me, I just have a few small issues. First, the movie has many very basic sports movie scenes or even just movie scenes in general. As far as sport movies go, you have the underdog, the supporter, the reluctant coach, the many, many doubter with a few typically having close connections to the underdog, and finally you have the rivals. It’s pretty basic as far as these elements go. Most of the situations the characters are put in are set up to feed into the idea that these are their roles, and so many sports movies have these roles. It’s not really surprising to see these roles or these characters anymore. You can only hope that it’s shown in a brand new way to where it feels new and fresh, and though some parts definitely feel new and fresh, a lot of parts are not. Those are really the only nitpicks I have with Eddie the Eagle.



Overall, I really liked Eddie the Eagle. It’s such a good time, and it’s so easy to get behind Eddie and enjoy the ride. I really liked Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman both in their roles, and even their characters, despite having seen them before, both excel and are easy to watch on-screen. I loved the way that this movie is directed and shot when it comes to how sports are shot, and I didn’t think I would be seriously interested in ski jumping, but this movie brought me right in. I probably won’t go out and take up ski jumping myself or even follow professional ski jumping, but I was really invested in this movie. I’m going to give Eddie the Eagle an 8/10.




So did you get a chance to check Eddie the Eagle out? Will you when it comes out on February 26th? If you got a chance to check it out, what did you think? If you didn’t yet, I would suggest giving it a look. If you do get to see it, come back and let me know exactly what you thoughtIt’s a great time with great characters and quality scenes of action and sports. Also, what is your favorite Hugh Jackman movie? Comment down below and tell me! Mine is probably the second X-Men film, X2: X-Men United, but he has been in so many great films such as The Prestige and Prisoners, so it’s a tough choice! I will have a review of this weekend’s new film The Finest Hours directed by Craig Gillespie and starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck tomorrow afternoon, so be sure to stay tuned for that! As always, thank you, and keep listening to 88.7 The Pulse!

[jo]

geektyrant.com/news/review-eddie-the-eagle-is-a-formulaic-but-enjoyable-crowd-pleaser

There's a good reason sports stories tend to work well at the movies: no matter how many times you see the same basic formula play out, it's always inspiring to watch an underdog triumph over incredible odds. Despite being perhaps the most predictable distillation of this formula of the past thirty years, Eddie the Eagle hits all the right beats; while occasionally veering into cheesy territory, this based-on-a-true-story genre entry is a largely satisfying crowd-pleaser.

In the hospital with a busted knee, young Eddie Edwards develops a singular dream: he wants to be an Olympian. He spends his childhood trying all manner of sports in order to find the one that will allow him his shot at glory, and eventually discovers he's pretty good at downhill skiing. But he's too clumsy for the coach's liking, so after getting booted from the team and coming close to giving up entirely, he realizes that ski jumping may be his ticket to the 1988 games in Calgary. The British don't have a ski jumping team, so all he has to do is qualify and he'll automatically be invited to the big show. The only problem, of course, is that he's never ski jumped before in his life. Against his comically gruff father's wishes, but with the backing of his supportive mother, Eddie travels to Germany to practice and meets disgraced former U.S. ski jumper Bronson Peary, now a drunk who drives a snow plow to clean up the course. As you would expect in a film like this, their unlikely friendship turns into a mentorship, and their quest begins.

Taron Egerton trades all of the swagger and sophistication from Kingsman for a geeky persona here, perpetually pushing his thick glasses up his nose and adopting a constant underbite to the point where he's almost unrecognizable as the stylish spy he played last year. He's very good as Eddie, giving the character a determination that's the backbone of the movie, and I wouldn't be remotely surprised to see him start popping up on lists of the best sports movie underdogs in the months and years to come. Hugh Jackman is a walking cliche as Bronson Peary, but he's so charismatic and fun to watch that he mostly overcomes his character's limitations by sheer force of personality.

This film doesn't know the meaning of the word "subtlety" — the sneering rival Norwegian skiers who might as well be the Russian from Rocky IV and the ridiculously on-the-nose soundtrack (Van Halen's "Jump" plays during a key moment) are just two examples that instantly come to mind, but the film is littered with them. But it's a testament to the film that it somehow works in spite of these aspects (along with some dodgy CGI and green screen work).

Leaning so hard on underdog sports movie tropes that it's sometimes unintentionally hilarious, Eddie the Eagle is engineered to garner a specific response from its audience. But even though I was aware of director Dexter Fletcher's skillful manipulation as it was happening, the power of the formula briefly overtook my powers of critical thinking and I admittedly got caught up in the film's triumphant final moments. While most of us will never be able to relate to sliding at 70 mph down a ramp while strapped into a pair of skis, we can all relate to the idea of proving doubters wrong.

Pro tip: listen closely to the voices that sing the '80s-inspired song that plays over the credits. I found out after the movie that it's actually Egerton and Jackman singing, and I wish I would have known that beforehand.

Can one act out "charisma"

[mamaleh]

Proof positive that Hugh is wise to give up the Wolverine character: Several reviews reference Wolvie in relation to Hugh's Peary in the film, as though any other portrayal must somehow relate to the clawed one. Enough is enough.

Ellen

[jo]

Yes, everything is measured in terms of Wolverine's appeal! But I think it is because those who do say that are big comicbook/superhero fans themselves. Many of the supposed film critics are actually film bloggers who are of the blockbuster generation ( young or fairly young )

Did you read the set visit report on APOCALYPSE posted yesterday featuring interviews with Bryan Singer and Simon Kinberg?

They think that recasting Wolverine will be impossible. That if they want to tell more stories of Wolverine, that they will have to convince Hugh to "eat more chicken...and go to the gym for a few months".  Of course that will depend on whether they still want to tell more Wolverine stories...but fans do really want him back for OLD MAN LOGAN years from now, if WOLVERINE 3 deals with a still young-looking Wolverine.

10. … And no, Hugh Jackman is not getting recast

For all the recasting that's already gone on in the X-Men series, Singer and Kinberg were unanimous on one point: recasting Wolverine would be impossible. "I do think you would want to figure out how to tell more Wolverine stories," Kinberg allowed. "So either we would try to entice Hugh to come back and eat more chicken and work out for a few months, or we would have to figure out a creative way to move forward. Honestly, I can't imagine anybody else playing the part, and there's not too many characters I can say that for."

I guess 17 years of Hugh playing the character has somewhat blurred the lines between the admired superhero persona of Wolverine and the natural and manly appeal of Hugh Jackman in their minds. I do wonder how many of these younger film fans have seen Les Miserables ore even the controversial The Fountain? They would have turned up for The Prestige ( because of Nolan) and maybe Prisoners. Not too sure about Real Steal...and maybe certainly not for Kate and Leopold. But the slightly older ones would have seen Van Helsing, too.

The theatre demos usually see  or prefer him as an entertainer/performer...and not too much as a dramatic actor either 

Maybe sometimes extreme versatility of an actor does confuse some people? They probably would only like to stick to the image of the most iconic character.


Jo

[jo]

On the other hand, it could very well be that the demos that will be most attracted to EDDIE THE EAGLE are the blockbuster generation

Jo

[jo]

highschool.latimes.com/orange-county-school-of-the-arts/eddie-the-eagle-exhilarating-inspiring-breath-of-fresh-air/

Eddie the Eagle”: Exhilarating, inspiring breath of fresh air
January 31, 2016 - 6:00AM | By Cassandra Hsiao



Eddie The Eagle is so much so the classic underdog story that even marketing has directly labeled it as “feel-good.” And though that may come with the stigma of cheesy predictability, Eddie embraces the bumps in the road and the inevitable victory with open arms—or in this case, wings.


Eddie Edwards (Taron Egerton) is the quintessential never-give-up champion. An unlikely athlete with a paunch belly and thick glasses, Eddie has his heart set on the Winter Olympics and representing Britain as the country’s one and only ski jumper at the 1988 Calgary Games. The only problem is, he has no idea how to jump properly—but to Eddie, it’s just a matter of try, try, and try again, even if it means broken bones and trips to the hospital. His unwaning determination wins him the grudging admiration of Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), a washed-up, alcoholic snow plower who was once at the top of the ski jumping game. It is Eddie’s unquenchable attitude that brings back the spark in Peary as the two bond through “ugly but effective methods” of training, preparing for 70 and 90 meter jumps that would scare even the most experienced athletes.


The movie doesn’t shy away from its straightforwardness, telling it like it is: an exhilarating, inspiring breath of fresh air with its 80s’ score and underdog triumphs. Audiences will watch Eddie with a ridiculously wide smile on their faces and laugh out loud at snazzy dialogue and fun performances. You can tell when filmmakers enjoy their work—Eddie The Eagle is certainly one of those projects.


Taron Egerton (fresh off of Kingsman: The Secret Service) perfectly adapts the eccentricities of real-life Eddie Edwards, striking the balance between lovably awkward and cartoonish. Hugh Jackman shines as usual with his character’s initial cynicism transformed into genuine hope. And Christopher Walken is thoroughly enjoyable in the few minutes of screen time he gets.


There are no major curveballs in the fairly foreseeable plot. The secret of the movie lies with this: the biggest surprise is that most of it is true. While adult audiences may recall the Eagle sensation from yesteryear, Eddie’s story will astound new generations. Here is a man who stood at incredible heights fully knowing he would painfully tumble-down the slopes again and again. Here is a man who didn’t let anything stop him, not financial matters, poor equipment, broken glasses, or consecutively higher slopes. Here is a man who caught the world’s attention not because he finished last or because of his endearing clumsiness, but because he embraced the true spirit of the Olympics: “Anyone who has a go is a success.”

Eddie the Eagle flies into theaters Feb. 26.