EDDIE THE EAGLE : Official Reviews ( Potential SPOILERS)

[jo]

Another review from the UK --


www.thehollywoodnews.com/2016/02/02/eddie-the-eagle-review/

‘Eddie The Eagle’ review: “One of the most uplifting films we’ve ever seen”

Eddie The Eagle review: This is simply on of the most feel good, inspiring, truly wonderful movies that we've seen in a long time. Highly recommended.


By Paul Heath -

Feb 2, 2016

Eddie The Eagle review: Dexter Fletcher, Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton take on a British sporting icon.



Eddie The Eagle review by Paul Heath, February 2016.

Dexter Fletcher takes to the slopes for his biggest directorial effort to date with Eddie The Eagle, an uplifting high-flyer that will have you grinning from ear to ear all of the way through.

Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards’ name is firmly steeped in Olympic history for his efforts at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, Canada in 1988. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, it all starts in the quiet Gloucestershire town of Cheltenham in the late 1970s, where a young boy dreams of glory at the Olympics. After quickly realising that he hasn’t got the ability to compete at the highest level in the big summer games, young Eddie switches sports for the winter type, and in particular, downhill skiing. After being harshly rejected for Great Britain, Edwards, played by rising star Taron Egerton, realises that Britain doesn’t have anyone represented in the sport of ski-jumping, so after pulling together some cash from his Mum and Dad (played by a wonderful Jo Hartley – fresh from This Is England fame, and the legendary Keith Allen), he heads to the slopes of Germany to train. Along the way Edwards meets alcoholic former competitor Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), who he slowly starts to win over to help him fulfil his destiny.



It’s so difficult not to like Eddie The Eagle that I challenge anyone not to. Not since Billy Elliot have we had such a feel good British movie; one that is quite simply one of the most uplifting and likeable films of its type that I’ve ever seen. As a Cheltenham boy myself, and of a certain age, I was familiar with the story of Eddie Edwards, and looked forward to seeing what Fletcher had managed to achieve. With this film, and following Wild Bill and Sunshine On Leith, the British actor-turned-director has somehow managed to deliver a perfect trilogy – three debut films that delight in so many different ways. After a solid, though more serious debut with Wild Bill, and the musical delight of ‘Leith’, Eddie The Eagle shows that Fletcher can really deliver when it comes to all-out comedy as well. The film, loosely based on the true story of Edwards, is hilarious almost from the off, and delivers a constant charm that is difficult to not fall in love with.

Jackman scales down from his superhero exploits as Wolverine and his scenery-chewing performance as Blackbeard in last year’s underwhelming Pan, to play the downtrodden though likeable Peary, but it is Egerton who steals the show. The young actor, an alumni from Matthew Vaughn’s Kingsman, delivers a career-best performance, easily nailing the accent and portraying a flawed though hugely likeable character in Edwards. His sweet, innocent, humble performance will have you laughing one minute and melting your heart the next. He’s a triumph in this, and surely a shoe-in for that Rising Star BAFTA later this month.



Fletcher’s direction is as masterful and precise as the ski-jumpers (other than Edwards) that the film features. It is complimented by legendary stuntman turned filmmaker Vic Armstrong’s superb second unit direction, a truly wonderful, eighties-style score from the brilliant Matthew Margeson, another Vaughn collaborator on Kingsman and Kick-Ass 2, along with some fantastic tracks of the age from the likes of Thin Lizzy and even Hall & Oates.

I cannot recommend Eddie The Eagle enough. Most of all, I cannot wait to see the film again, and more than that, I cannot wait to see what Dexter Fletcher sets his sights on next. This is a truly wonderful film from an exciting filmmaker and and of our best rising talents in Egerton. See Eddie The Eagle at your earliest opportunity. It’s outstanding.

Eddie The Eagle review by Paul Heath, February 2016.

Eddie The Eagle is released in UK cinemas from April 1st, 2016.


REVIEW OVERVIEW
Overall 
SUMMARY
I dare anyone not to enjoy this winter warmer from British director Dexter Fletcher. Aaron Egerton is outstanding in this delightful feel-good flick that is truly one of the best of the year.

OVERALL SCORE : 5 of 5 Stars

[jo]

www.screenrelish.com/2016/02/02/eddie-the-eagle-review/

EDDIE THE EAGLE Review

Posted on Feb 2 2016 - 3:06am by Brandon Benarba


Director: Dexter Fletcher

Cast: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken, Tim McInnerny, Edvin Endre, Jo Hartley, Keith Allen

Rating: PG-13/12A

Running Time: 105 minutes



Sickeningly sweet and unapologetically heartfelt, EDDIE THE EAGLE isn’t interested in capturing the real event of Great Britain’s Olympic ski-jumper Michael “Eddie” Edwards. Instead the film boils away a tale of personal struggle into one of personal achievement – fueled solely by the ambition of fulfilling one’s dreams.

At its best, EDDIE THE EAGLE soars. At its worse, it’s merely waiting in line for its next chance to jump.

Loosely based on the true story, EDDIE THE EAGLE follows Edwards (Taron Egerton), a lifelong Olympics fanatic who desired to one day be apart of the prestigious games. His thick glasses, stocky body and unorthodox family upbringing makes Olympic officials turn their heads to Edwards, who is set out to be Britain’s first ski jumper in decades. His unwavering determination grants him the attention of Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), an alcoholic snow plower who once was one of the best ski jumpers. Taking Edwards under his wing, Peary pushes the aspiring athlete through harsh training methods in order to master the 70 and 90 meter jumps at the Winter Olympics.

Director Dexter Fletcher has created an incredibly straightforward film more interested in personal triumph than any social commentary. At the center of the film is Egerton, who breaths such a naive innocence to the role. One particular scene has Jackman comparing the jump’s takeoff to sex, to which Egerton maintains a guileless appearance. At times his performance borders on cartoonish, serving a fantastic counter-point to Jackman’s grizzled cynicism. The two actors absolutely build off of each others performance.

Like most inspirational genre films of this type, the plot is entirely foreseeable. Fletcher is clearly in no rush to actually get to the Olympic games, spending a lot of time with the two main leads (especially Jackman’s Peary, whose story is mostly fictional in the film). Because of this, the film does begin to overstay its welcome, as Edward’s Olympic spotlight often feels exhaustive rather than inspiring.

What is so interesting about EDDIE THE EAGLE though is how, as a film, the entire story seems displaced in time. There is a 21st century style to Edwards celebrity turn – often times feeling like a viral sensation rather than an athlete – while Peary’s initial resentment towards the young jumper is fueled by his own failure to maintain the spotlight. Yet Fletcher keeps the film firmly rooted in the 1980s with a soundtrack including Hall & Oates and a synth score ripped out of any high-octane thriller.

Fletcher shoots the film with a very surreal style. First-person views and dutch angles are some of the cinematic techniques to put us in the shoes of Edwards; which ultimately feels like the directors intent. By dramatizing the events of Edwards’ story Fletcher opts to instead create something very human. Much like Peary does for Edwards, Fletcher pushes the viewer to make that jump.

EDDIE THE EAGLE is a fun movie, a surreal movie, a nostalgic movie and an inspiring one.

4_stars screenrelish

EDDIE THE EAGLE opens February 26 in the US and April 1 in the UK.

[jo]

freshfiction.tv/movie-review-eddie-the-eagle-takes-flight-lifts-spirits/

Movie Review – ‘EDDIE THE EAGLE’ Takes Flight, Lifts Spirits


Courtney Howard // Film Critic

EDDIE THE EAGLE | 1h 45min | PG-13
Directed by: Dexter Fletcher
Starring: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken, Jo Hartley,



Sports films featuring underdog heroes are everyone’s jam, as they transcend their sport to tell a human interest story. They tap into our emotions and fuel the brain with inspirational dopamine. Director Dexter Fletcher’s EDDIE THE EAGLE does just that. Even though this may not represent these actors’ personal bests, its rousing, uplifting spirit is infectious. This is the feel-good movie of the year, replete with gobs of heart and gumption.

Eddie Edwards (Taron Egerton) dreams of being an Olympic athlete – only he isn’t very athletic. In his formative years, he’s hindered by a knee brace and coke-bottle glasses. In his twenties, though the knee brace is long gone, his gawky demeanor and penchant for pratfalls still remains. Fellow dreamer Mom (Jo Hartley) has encouraged his passion, however, his blue-collar father (Keith Allen) has been driven mad by all of Eddie’s antics. After getting cut from the British Olympic downhill skiing team before the trials, Eddie decides to try ski jumping, since no Brit has competed in that event in decades. All he needs now is a coach. Enter Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), an alcoholic, womanizing, washed-up former ski jump champion. Though these two are complete opposites in almost everything, Bronson favoring booze and Eddie loving milk, they share common ground – a drive to prove the naysayers wrong.

Taron Edgerton and Hugh Jackman star in EDDIE THE EAGLE. Courtesy of 20th Century Fox.
Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman star in EDDIE THE EAGLE. Courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

While it’s not a bad thing, it’s clear EDDIE THE EAGLE aims to be RUDY on skis, right down to the disapproving father lecturing his son at the bus stop. It also shares traits with COOL RUNNINGS – and not just because the Jamaican bobsledders competed at the same Olympics as Eddie. It employs similar plot beats and sweet, heartfelt sentiments about personal bests being the greatest victory. There’s probably also a splash of BREAKING AWAY in there too for good measure. While screenwriters Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton’s narrative gets a little paint-by-numbers, there are a handful of genuinely inspired sequences to elevate it – like the use of “Bolero” as Bronson teaches Eddie about the connection between sex and skiing, a.k.a. Jackman’s Meg Ryan moment. I’ll have what he’s having. Matthew Margeson’s warm synth sounds on the score, plus soundtrack choices from Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Hall and Oates and Van Halen (guess which song), augment the atmosphere and transport us back to the 80’s.

Fletcher maintains tone rather deftly. A scene in the pantry with Eddie and an oversexed café owner Petra (Iris Berben) could have taken the film into raunch-com, but Fletcher wisely backs off from that. The Norwegian ski jump team appear to be this film’s squad of 80’s style bullies, but Fletcher again restrains himself from painting them in broad strokes. Curbing cynicism also proves to be a winning strategy. It’s refreshing that it never mocks its hero or does anything terribly mean-spirited. Action sequences are beautifully shot and provide visceral thrills. Despite mugging on a few occasions, Egerton is a delight as Eddie especially when we see his regularly handsome self disappear into the character’s physicality – his underbite, oversized glasses that slip down his nose and body language. It’s impossible not to root for him. Although Jackman plays it really safe with his character (never actually showing him do anything too morally corrupt), it’s lovely to see him just having a blast in a comedic role.

EDDIE may not be perfect or flawless, much like the protagonist portrayed, but it wears its heart on its sleeve and fills your soul with joy.

EDDIE THE EAGLE opens on February 26.


4 of 5 Stars

[jo]

This review is a NO!!

ex-press.ca/movie-review-eddie-the-eagle-doesnt-fly/?eagle-doesnt-fly/

Movie review: Eddie The Eagle doesn’t fly


The story of England’s most unlikely Olympian — a ski jumper who charmed the 1988 Games with his ineptitude — is turned into a film that follows a familiar formula


Eddie The Eagle

Starring: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman

Directed by: Dexter Fletcher

Running time: 105 minutes

Rating: 2½ stars out of 5


By Jay Stone

The 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary were great fodder for movies about heroically loveable losers. First came the 1993 film Cool Runnings about the unlikely journey of the Jamaican bobsled team from the beaches to the Rockies. Now we have Eddie The Eagle, a comically inspirational picture about Eddie Edwards, the Englishman who won hearts as the worst ski jumper in Alberta.

Why a movie has been made 27 years after the fact is just one of the bits of incomprehensible flotsam and jetsam that float around Eddie The Eagle. It’s a fictionalized account of a true story that packs in every manner of cinematic formula — an alcoholic coach who must himself be redeemed by this unlikely athlete; a father who doesn’t believe in his son’s dreams until, magically, he does; a soundtrack that vacillates between tinkly sentiment and heroic bravura — in its long leap to that final, crowd-pleasing landing on the slopes near what the film calls “Calgary, Canada.” You’re not sure whether to stand and cheer or to throw yourself off a 90-metre ski jump just to get it over with.

Eddie The Eagle introduces its hero as a nerdy child with glasses and a bum leg who imagines himself an Olympic athlete in pole vaulting (a broken pole), javelin (a broken window) or holding his breath underwater (a broken critical spirit.) No one believes in him except mom and possibly Matthew Margeson, the composer whose electronic score underlines every perceived emotion in the picture.

Eddie grows up to be Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service), whose thick glasses and outthrust jaw give him a rather alarming resemblance to Bubbles, the least sophisticated of the Trailer Park Boys. Like Bubbles, Eddie is something of an overgrown child: he doesn’t drink, appears alarmed at the prospect of sex, and glares through his Coke-bottle glasses with such naïve dedication that you’d worry for his safety if you didn’t know exactly where the movie was going from the first scene.

Unable to qualify as an Olympic skier (“Frankly Eddie you will never be Olympic material,” says the snooty head of the English team. Just you wait!), Eddie discovers that he can instead become England’s one-person ski jump team, the first such athlete from that country since 1929. All he has to do, really, is to learn to ski jump.

He heads off to a German training facility with nothing but his determination and some old skis. There he meets Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman in a pretty good American accent), a former member of the U.S. ski jump team now fallen on hard times due to his drinking and his inability to think of others. He first refuses to help, but soon he’s playing Burgess Meredith to Eddie’s Rocky: the washed-up old timer seduced by the impetuous young kid in whom, just maybe, he sees a bit of himself.

It’s a portrait that would be more persuasive if the lean, fit Jackman didn’t look like he could hit the podium in just about any Olympic sport he decided to enter. Nor is it helped by the third-act appearance of Christopher Walken in an odd and sallow cameo as Peary’s old coach who goes on TV to report what a bad teammate he was.

Eddie faces a few obstacles along the way — including the villainous Norwegian ski team and most of the Olympic establishment — but he eventually wins everyone’s heart and becomes a great ambassador for the idea of an amateur who doesn’t know what he’s doing nevertheless getting more publicity that the champion (the screenplay, by Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton, features such unlikelihoods as Eddie going last in the competition, rather than first, to build the drama.)

Director Dexter Fletcher adds some excitement by having his cameras fly into the air with Eddie so we get an idea of what it’s like to jump off the biggest slopes. As Peary says, Eddie proved himself as a winner by not immediately giving up the way most people would when they get to the top of a ski jump and see what waits below. It really is an amazing story of courage, and I hope it’s the last one that comes out of the 1988 Olympics.

Summary

2.5
Score

Eddie The Eagle: This late-coming account of Eddie Edwards — the inept but lovable English ski jumper of the 1988 Olympics — trots out all the sports film cliches. It's designed as a crowd-pleaser, but you have to overlook a lot of formulaic plot devices to want to cheer. 2 1/2 stars out of 5 _ Jay Stone

[jo]

Reviews are still trickling in very, very slowly because reviews are usually not published till after the movie is officially released to the public ( in EDDIE's case, on February 26).

Here's one of the few that have been released ahead of embargo date --

virtualscreen.net/2016/01/31/eddie-the-eagle-review/ote]

Eddie The Eagle Review


eddie-the-eagle-2This is one of the few movies I saw without watching the trailer before, which is something very, very rare. I saw the poster in my local AMC, so I knew who at least was involved in the movie, but that’s pretty much about it. A friend of mine got a screening of it,

Eddie The Eagle tells the story of Michael Edwards, the first British ski jumper to partecipate to the winter olympics, who is perhaps one of the most famous underdog (or, like his Wikipedia says, heroic failure) athletes. He became famous for celebrating a lot although arriving last, imitating the birds flight gesture, hence from then known as Eddie ‘The Eagle’ Edwards.

Honestly, this movie was a pleasant surprise. From the very beginning, the movie invests you with his light hearted imagery of this kid so determined (almost obsessed) to become an olympic athlete to be willing to do anything to achieve such a dream, ending up to be a very good story of inspiration, and, why not, courage.

Taron Edgerton confirms himself one of the best surprise of last year, as this time he puts a brilliant performance portraying Eddie, which honestly overall impressed me a lot. The other main character is played by Hugh Jackman, as he plays Bronson Peary, Eddie’s coach, a somewhat failed ski-jumping athlete who’s, obviously, reluctant at the idea at first; Hugh here plays a very familiar character to him, as he reminds of roles he played in the past (yes, including Wolverine), but he incarnates Bronson perfectly. Other minor roles are covered by Jim Broadbent and Christopher Walken, who plays Bronson’s former coach.eddie-the-eagle

For the rest, the movie really reminds you of the classic Matthew Vaughn movie, both in overall tone but also the cinematography that recalls his last three movies (Kick-Ass, X-Men First Class and Kingsman), and this because, well, he produced the movie. Not saying he ghost directed it (also because the director Dexter Fletcher did a great job), but he surely gave some wise creative suggestions.

Best part of the movie is perhaps the jumping sequences, perfectly put together with a very, very smart and effective editing that ends up not only making you root for Eddie really hard, but also it gives you breathtaking moments where you really hope our protagonist makes it alive.

Anyways, this movie is really worthy. You guys should all check it out as soon as comes out.

SCORE: 7.5

[hughmanity]

news3lv.com/features/bob-fisher-at-the-movies/eddie-the-eagle-the-choice-two-old-fashioned-stories

EDDIE THE EAGLE (4 Stars out of 5)

The second movie is better and more exciting. EDDIE THE EAGLE, like so many movies we will see this year, is a true story. Well sort of, as director Dexter Fletcher mostly told the truth. What is not in question are the following facts: Michael "Eddie the Eagle" Edwards represented Great Britain at the 1988 Olympics in Calgary. He was the first British skier to represent Great Britain in Olympic Ski Jumping since the 1920's. He finished last in the 40, 70 and 90 meter races. But, he finished. That in and of itself is thrilling. He gained fame as "the underdog heroic failure". At the Closing Ceremony, Frank King, President of the Olympic Committee singled him out for "soaring like an eagle!"

Taron Egerton played Eddie wonderfully. He was able to capture our heart. Hugh Jackman does a good job as his coach, Bronson Peary. Their chemistry together works. The cinematography (George Richmond) and the musical score (Matthew Margeson) bring this film up to four stars. Bottom line: Dreams -- even if they are ridiculously impossible, can come true. This family friendly film will allow parents to talk to their children about will power and putting forth your best effort always.

[jo]

Again, written from a British perspective --

www.nerdly.co.uk/2016/02/07/eddie-the-eagle-review/

2016
‘Eddie the Eagle’ Review

by Jack Kirby

Stars: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken, Tim McInnerny, Rune Temte, Edvin Endre, Jo Hartley, Daniel Westwood, Tony Paul West, Ania Sowinski, Daniel Ings, Anastasia Harrold | Written by Sean Macaulay, Simon Kelton | Directed by Dexter Fletcher

Eddie-the-Eagle-cast



A comedy-drama based on the true story of the plucky underdog defying expectations at the 1988 Winter Olympics under the tutelage of a cranky yet caring American coach who’s turned their back on the sport that made them a star? Yep, Cool Runnings is a classic, no doubt about it ,and it can now finally have an Calgary ’88 double bill with Eddie the Eagle, which tells the story of an even more unlikely athletic hero.

I didn’t know a lot about Eddie the Eagle, other than that he was a ski jumper. As I understand it, this biopic runs a little fast and loose with the facts and the end result is about as close to pure and undistilled underdog sports drama as it gets. We’re presented with a young Eddie, who despite his leg braces, poor eyesight and almost total lack of any natural sporting ability whatsoever, is an Olympics geek and wants nothing other than to represent Great Britain in… well, any sport that will have him. He develops as a downhill skier but the nefarious British Olympic Association bar him from the team through political maneuvering. Undeterred, Eddie decides to try his hand at ski jumping – no other living Brit competes in the sport so he becomes the number one by default. Still not wishing to have someone as gawky and daft as Eddie on Team GB, the Association sets the bar ever higher in their efforts to keep him off the plane to Calgary, so Eddie enlists the help of alcoholic former US champion, Bronson Peary to coach him to glory.

Eddie the Eagle was very easy to enjoy – it’s aimed squarely at the heart of the mainstream and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. I think it will do well in the UK at least for the same reasons that Eddie became so popular in the eighties – there’s something about his character and his story that sits right with the ‘British’ psyche. We like underdogs and have-a-go heroes, we like seeing pompous authority figures being embarrassed and we equally like the opportunity to have a good laugh at a hopeless loser when he gets caught out of his depth. Eddie is the quintessential geek – socially awkward, obsessive and finds immense joy in the niche. Triumph for him isn’t about standing on a podium with a medal, it’s about getting the chance to compete alongside his heroes in the first place. Again, it’s that sense of triumph out of seemingly trivial victories that appeals to the stereotypically British sensibility.

Eddie is played by Taron Egerton (who played Eggsy in Kingsman, continuing his trend for playing characters with avian nicknames), which I imagine was quite challenging. Eddie is a larger than life character to begin with so to play him accurately and sympathetically without stumbling into gurning caricature is impressive. Hugh Jackman has an easier job with Bronson Peary; of course he can do world-weary cynicism in his sleep and you do get the impression he’s coasting a little bit here. Still, there’s only so much he can bring to what is a fairly thinly written character and ultimately Jackman’s innate charisma wins through. The slightness of his character is a problem that’s repeated with pretty much the rest of the cast with everyone apart from Eddie drawn with incredibly broad strokes, to the point where it becomes a little silly. Did the Olympic Association really need to be quite so myopically haughty? Was it really necessary that Eddie’s dad was quite so “give up this skiing nonsense and learn a trade” even when he’s actually at the Olympics? He doesn’t stop being a misery guts until quite literally the last possible minute. It’s this lack of nuance that’s the film’s main weakness and it’s clearly borne out of the desire to keep things simple and feelgood.

Similarly, Dexter Fletcher (Sunshine on Leith)’s unfussy direction keeps the story digestible, compact and easy to follow. What it lacks in flair, it makes up for in tone, striking a good balance between the comedic and dramatic elements. It’s also good family viewing, being accessible enough for children to enjoy (with a PG rating) and engaging enough for adults too. It doesn’t shy away from the danger of the sport either, with the jumps looking genuinely intimidating.

Like its protagonist, Eddie the Eagle is not going to be the best thing you’ll ever see and it’s not going to win any awards, but it does its absolute best to entertain as many people as possible in its window of opportunity and it would be churlish to criticise it for that.

Eddie the Eagle is released across the UK on April 1st.

[jo]

Included in this review is a detailed recounting of the film plot ( except for the ending) --

thecriticalcritics.com/reviews/movie-review-eddie-the-eagle/

It does highlight the incredible chemistry between Hugh and Taron!

[jo]

Another very impressed review ( 10/10 ) --

cinemadeviant.com/eddie-the-eagle-movie-review/

[jo]

Rating of 4 of 5 stars --

freshfiction.tv/movie-review-eddie-the-eagle-takes-flight-lifts-spirits/

EDDIE may not be perfect or flawless, much like the protagonist portrayed, but it wears its heart on its sleeve and fills your soul with joy.

[jo]

IGN gives the movie a rating of 7.5 OF 10 --

www.ign.com/articles/2016/02/11/eddie-the-eagle-review

[jo]

Some cynicism about the film story of EDDIE --

www.laweekly.com/film/eddie-the-eagle-is-no-cool-runnings-6622222

Eddie the Eagle Is No Cool Runnings


By Scott Tobias

Monday, February 22, 2016



In the Winter Olympics, ski jumping is one of those sports — bobsledding and luging are others — where Joe and Jane Satellite Dish cannot tell the difference between a great performance and a terrible one unless the athlete is carried away on a stretcher. No doubt there are crucial nuances in power and form, but on television, the mechanics all look the same: Athlete whooshes down giant ramp, athlete glides majestically through the air with body forward and skis up, athlete attempts to land without breaking his neck. Whoever jumps the farthest wins. The winner is usually Scandinavian.



For broadcast networks to simply show the event — round after round, jump after jump, from 70- and 90-meter distances — they’d have to be willing to watch their ratings glide majestically downhill, too. So instead, they look for inspirational stories to package — and they got a doozy in Michael “Eddie” Edwards, a British ski jumper who finished dead last in both events at the 1988 Games in Calgary, but whooped and flapped as if he'd won the gold. Never much of a force in the Winter Games, the Brits had no tradition as a ski-jumping nation, which allowed Edwards to slip into competition without much experience or skill (and to considerable controversy from the sporting elite). But with his Mr. Magoo glasses, his ungainly frame and his big personality, Edwards was a media sensation: a working-class bloke with dreams of Olympic glory.



The Jamaican bobsled team also dazzled Calgary with its non-excellence that year, inspiring the Disney comedy Cool Runnings five years later. And now Edwards’ story has finally been packaged as Eddie the Eagle, which could be dubbed a Full Monty cash-in if it weren’t so late for that, too. A tacky embroidered sweater of a movie, Eddie the Eagle has the populist tone of those TV packages for the Olympics, only at 20 times the length and without Bob Costas’ narration. It tiptoes around the stickiest questions about Edwards’ legitimacy, invents a hard-drinking American coach out of whole cloth and covers most of its hero's athletic progress in a training montage set to Hall & Oates’ “You Make My Dreams Come True.” Short of outfitting Edwards with a beer helmet as he careens down the in-run, the film’s commitment to broad feel-good-isms is absolute.

As Edwards, Taron Egerton is as crazily mannered and over-the-top as the nerd in an ’80s college comedy, but clips of the real man downgrade that assessment to merely “a bit much.” After scenes from Edwards’ childhood establish him as a physically limited boy with Olympic aspirations — a Rushmore-esque montage of failed backyard events (javelin, pole vaulting, hurdles, etc.) yields a tin of shattered glasses — Eddie the Eagle catches up with him as a 22-year-old still eyeing the medal stand. Having shifted from summer sports to skiing, Edwards targets ski jumping as his ticket into the British Olympic team and heads on his own dime to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, to teach himself how to do it. The Finns treat him shabbily, but a snowplow operator named Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), a former ski-jumping hopeful from the United States, takes the Eagle under his wing.

From the film’s perspective, there are only two types of people: those inspired by Edwards’ plucky resolve and the Finnish snobs or bureaucratic prigs who insist that he’s denigrating the sport. If there’s a reasonable position somewhere in the middle — the person who admires Edwards’ determination but respects the cruel meritocracy of athletic skill — Eddie the Eagle isn’t aware of it. The hero is a jumper-come-lately who’s dodging a future as a plastering apprentice; the villains are Olympians who have been honing their craft since the age of 6. Unless their stories are colorful, their achievements don’t matter. That’s true of primetime Olympics broadcasts — and of Eddie the Eagle.

Actor-turned-director Dexter Fletcher, who previously made the Pretenders jukebox musical Sunshine on Leith, approaches the material with an uncomplicated exuberance that wears you down. Not a second of Eddie the Eagle rings true, but it goads the audience into guzzling its cheery platitudes anyway, like the shots the other athletes force on the teetotaling Edwards in Calgary. Did Edwards really learn proper aerial form through a Bo Derek sex fantasy? Did he really spend the Opening Ceremony passed out in a laundry bin? It’s tempting to imbibe every last drop of Fletcher’s noxious absinthe and get drunk on his tall tales of underdog achievement. But it won’t feel good in the morning.

[jo]

Forbes's Scott Mendelson has always been an admirer of Hugh Jackman's work -- including in EDDIE THE EAGLE ... but not as admiring of the movie.


www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2016/02/22/review-eddie-the-eagle-comes-to-play-but-not-to-win/#130a235a6c8f

Review: 'Eddie The Eagle' Comes To Play, But Not To Win

Scott Mendelson ,
Contributor



Eddie-the-Eagle-BannerEddie the Eagle is exactly what it promises and nothing more. It tells the story of one Eddie Edwards, a British ski jumper who made it to the 1988 Olympics and put on a good show for underdogs everywhere. The film comes courtesy of Marv Films, Saville Productions, Studio Babelsberg, and TSG Entertainment. The majority of the marketing has focused on how heartwarming and/or empowering the story happens to be, to the point where 20th Century Fox has been running television spots trumpeting how regular moviegoers (and American football players) were appropriately inspired by the true-life biopic.

And that’s really Fox’s best trump card, beyond the presence of Hugh Jackman in a major supporting role. In fact, it’s a little fitting/ironic seeing Hugh Jackman (who Fox made into a major movie star sixteen years ago by casting him in X-Men) being the grizzled mentor to Taron Egerton, who Fox may have made into something of a new star with Kingsman: The Secret Service last year. The film opens on Friday in America courtesy of 20th Century Fox, while Lions Gate Entertainment (which is tossing Egerton into their planned Robin Hood Origins) is releasing the film in the United Kingdom on March 28th.

As for the movie, well, it’s “fine,” with all of the respectful indifference that implies. It tells its story with just enough warmth and quirk to justify itself, yet it will vanish from your memory days after a theatrical viewing. If I have any issue with the story, it is that the story, specifically the public’s reaction to it back in 1988, is something of a celebration of mediocrity. Now granted, one does not have to be a “winner” to deserve recognition or acknowledgment, but we as a culture have a bad habit of celebrating alleged ineptitude either in outright mockery (American Idol’s William Hung) or in affectionate bemusement (the “Left Shark” during Katy Perry’s Super Bowl performance). The end result, even with the best of intentions, is that we end up holding up those who did it wrong or failed over those who did succeeded at a given task in a relatively no-fuss manner.

And sometimes, we end up with a situation where we lionizing those who get it wrong and or don’t succeed at a given task over those who have talent and succeed in their preferred field. The good news is that Eddie the Eagle confronts this dichotomy while still justifying its narrative. Yes, it’s easy to just see a young and plucky upstart achieve his dreams with little more than pluck and determination, but the film acknowledges the somewhat odd scenario where Eddie became a media darling by virtue of his unconventional merits even if said can-do attitude didn’t necessarily result in a bag full of gold medals. Eddie Edwards has wanted to be an Olympic contender since childhood, for reasons that are arguably as elusive and arbitrary as the ones that led Philippe Petit to walk across the Twin Towers on a tightrope four decades ago.





The kid’s got heart to spare, but little talent and few of the class-based advantages from which his would-be competitors might benefit. His mother encourages him just a bit while his father wants him to just give up the ghost and join in him in the plaster business. After he is cut from the Olympic ski team by an aristocratic bureaucrat (Mark Benton), he decides instead do enter as a ski jumper. This leads him to Germany and a run-in with a down-on-his-luck former Olympic ski jumper (Hugh Jackman), who eventually ends up being something of a coach/mentor to the guy. The film gets a real shot in the arm when Jackman shows up, and it’s a testament to old-school star power how much he commands the screen even when going through the motions as an alcoholic wash-out.

The film’s one great scene is almost an afterthought, as Jackman drunkenly takes to the slope and knocks out a perfect jump to show up some young whipper-snappers. But the rest of the film, well-intentioned as it is, merely goes through the playbook at half-a-step without being concerned with much more than hitting the marks. Egerton gives a fine lead performance, even if he often plays Eddie as something of a man-child to the point of characterture and the film momentarily sparks during his all-too-brief (and all-too-chaste) dealings with Iris Berben as a German bar owner. Christopher Walken is barely a cameo, with his sage mentor character existing mostly in theory until the very end of the picture.

[jo]

www.filmjournal.com/reviews/film-review-eddie-eagle

Film Review: Eddie the Eagle

Modestly entertaining feel-good movie based on the life of Olympic ski jumper Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, who persevered, beat the odds, and gained cult-status as a noble failure.

By Simi Horwitz Feb 22, 2016


Dexter Fletcher’s Eddie the Eagle is a mildly diverting, feel-good biopic loosely inspired by the unlikely career of Michael “Eddie” Edwards (Taron Egerton), a quirky, determined and downright brave British ski-jumper who believed in himself largely on the basis of nothing. Indeed, nobody was in his corner. Yet, despite all odds, he made history in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.

Brought up in a working-class British community, the son of a plasterer, Eddie had his sights set on the Olympics even as a youngster. For reasons that are not entirely clear, at least as recounted here, he saw himself as a champion downhill skier. Despite working relentlessly towards his goal, he did not make the British team at the Winter Olympics in 1984.

Undaunted, Eddie switched gears to ski-jumping precisely because Britain hadn’t had a ski-jumper represented at the Olympics in decades. Thus, he had a shot at it. Eddie had never attempted a ski jump before, but that didn’t faze him, nor did his physical condition (he was chunky and suffered from terrible eyesight), nor his socioeconomic background. Eddie was far afield from most competitive skiers who are svelte, start training early, and are well-heeled, with no shortage of funding sources.

In the end, Eddie was the only British contender at the 1987 World Championships, placing 55th and thereby qualified to compete in the 1988 Winter Olympics, where he placed last in both the 70 and 90-meter jump but became a cult figure and media darling nonetheless for his indefatigable drive coupled with his oddball appearance (squat build, thick glasses, blond mustache) and ski-slope antics, most notably the joyous flapping of his arms after he successfully landed. The tabloids dubbed him “The Eagle,” and for a while he enjoyed a folk-hero status in the U.K., if not in the States.

The truthfulness of the film is arguable, though Egerton cuts a fun figure: an awkward, guileless, child-man who never touches liquor and seems utterly baffled and a tad repelled when an attractive mature woman makes a pass at him.

Fletcher and screenwriters Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton also add two fictional characters to the mix that are undoubtedly entertaining—not least because they are played by Hugh Jackman and Christopher Walken. They’re also designed to move the story along and heighten the emotional impact of what it means to have failed and come back against all odds.

Bronson Perry (Jackman) was at one time an Olympic contender, but he was booted off the team by iconic coach Warren Sharp (Walken) for lack of discipline and heavy drinking. Now scruffy, cynical, and a full-blown alcoholic, Perry makes his living driving a snow plow in Garmish, Germany, and spends much of his free time at the local bar and hanging around the ski slopes where despite himself he is drawn to Eddie’s sincere, damn-the-torpedoes ambition. He reluctantly takes him under his wing, training young Eddie to jump (likening it to sex with Bo Derek) while at the same time warding off the well-built Nordic Olympic contenders who are bullies.

Like Eddie, who is prodded forward by a lifetime of putdowns, Perry decides to clean up his act and train the skier to win in earnest, especially when his old nemesis Sharp surfaces at the games proclaiming that both Eddie and Percy are a couple of losers. Walken appears in only two brief scenes, but there is a quiet build-up for his arrival (bordering on the campy), as Percy repeatedly stares at old magazine covers featuring photos of his former mentor whom he so deeply disappointed.

The rest is predictable enough, as the least likely triumphs and reconciliations are achieved all around: Sharp admits he misjudged Perry and apologizes—followed by a meaningful, manly embrace between the two men—while Eddie gains not only the ski world’s adulation but also his disparaging father’s stamp of approval. When Eddie returns home victorious, Dad is at the airport to greet him, as part of a cheering crowd, sporting a sweatshirt that proudly states: “I am Eddie’s Dad.”

The film is unabashedly what it is and likeable even at its most shamelessly overstated moments, like Eddie at the base of the slope peering upwards at the 70 and then 90-meter jumps as the emotionally wrought background music swells. And finally, at the Olympic game just before he takes the big jump (that could kill him), he momentarily freezes, hearing all the insults ever leveled at him about his lack of athletic prowess. Proving them wrong is his motto and creed.

Eddie the Eagle is the perfect antidote (momentary though it may be) to those moviegoers who know all too well that working hard and following your dreams is usually another opportunity for wheel-spinning.

[jo]

[jo]

www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/02/23/review-eddie-the-eagle-movie/80770754/

Review: The feel-good 'Eagle' has landed

Brian Truitt, USA TODAY 12:38 p.m. EST February 23, 2016


'Eddie the Eagle' tells the true story of Michael Edwards who took on the ski jumping competition as an underdog at the 1988 Winter Olympics. USA TODAY



We’ve got Rudy. They’ve got Eddie.

A British Olympic ski jumper whose heart outweighed his talent gets the biopic treatment with Eddie the Eagle (*** out of four; rated PG-13; in theaters Friday nationwide), a delightfully feel-good though hopelessly fluffy affair directed by Dexter Fletcher that slaloms around complete hokum thanks to a pair of winning performances.

A transformed Taron Egerton trades in his good looks from Kingsman: The Secret Service in favor of nerdy glasses and a dorky facade as Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards, an unfamiliar folk hero for those not hardcore into international sports. From a young age, he dreams of filling up a tin with gold medals instead of broken spectacles from his unfortunate "training" mishaps, but even when he gets to be quite the downhill skier, he doesn't have what it takes for the English national squad.



Instead of a career as a plasterer, though, Eddie turns his sights to the death-defying heights of ski jumping and heads to Germany to train for the 1988 Winter Olympics, where the Brits had never had a competitor. (As a team of one, all he had to do was reach the lowest qualifying mark to make the Games.) No one takes him seriously because he’s much more “agony of defeat” than “thrill of victory,” yet Eddie finds an unconventional coach in Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), a former Olympic hopeful from America whose bad-boy ways overshadowed his athletic accomplishments.

Eddie does end up in Calgary and endears himself to the crowd, much to the chagrin of snooty British sports officials and fellow team members, who are way too cool for the likes of him. A quick Wikipedia search tells all one needs to know about how Eddie fared, but like its spiritual underdog predecessor, the football-centric Rudy, Eddie the Eagle cares much more for its hero’s spirit of competition than him actually winning anything.




Therein lies its charm, boosted overall by Egerton and Jackman playing against type to a degree. The younger star totally immerses himself in the hapless Eddie, a character so whitebread that milk is the hardest stuff he drinks. And while Jackman is better known for wearing muscles and claws as Wolverine, the Australian A-lister also plays the flawed father figure well (see: the underrated Real Steel).

He and Egerton have a sparkling chemistry as the movie’s decidedly undynamic duo on the surface — following spill after spill, Eddie finally starts getting into his groove when Bronson has him liken the act of ski jumping to bedding his crush Bo Derek. It’s a scene that’s a little subversive to its family-friendly mold but balances the sometimes-sugary sweetness of Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton’s inspirational screenplay.

Christopher Walken has an all-too-brief role as Bronson’s estranged mentor, a lot of Eddie’s “competition” comes off as smarmy one-note antagonists, and even the good vibes are too much at times. However, for those who like a certain retro style with their sports cinema, a synthesizer-driven soundtrack and '80s pastiche combined with its stars gives Eddie enough flair to really fly.

[jo]

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

[jo]

Pure sarcasm

www.buzzfeed.com/alisonwillmore/eddie-the-eagle-review#.qwzVDwL7r

[jo]

Many reviews have already been posted, either on Rotten Tomatoes ( currently at 72%) or found on Google Alerts.

Of those who posted negative or mixed reviews, there have been some comments along these lines --

*The movie was mostly fictional and the real backstory was only a small part of it.
*They should have fleshed out the backstory more.
*The character of Bronson Peary was made up. His character is one-note.


LOL - some complain that it is not a 100% biopic ( that would be a documentary and not a film adaptation). Some wanted to add more fiction to the screenplay ( which would go against those who complain about the movie being less of a biopic but a work of fiction). Saying that a character is one-note does not consider that it was meant to be. If the character is a real-life person, who was a fascinating and interesting personality, then complaining about his portrayal as one-note would be valid. Someone even said that Hugh Jackman is an electric actor but was saddled with a one-note character in the movie. Others ( those who are positive in their reviews) say his part/portrayal saves the movie. Completely contradictory

Of course, the critics have their points of view (thank goodness the negativity is only less than a third of total reviews already posted on RT). But there was one ( NYTimes) which made me think that the reviewer ( Not Scott or Dargis - someone else)) was asleep during the screening or simply judged it based on what he may have read about it in the media - haha, just my opinion

Jo

[hughmanity]

84%
liked it

That's the audience response on RT.  

[jo]

Sigh! It received an " A " Cinemascore rating from select Friday screening audiences. But the box office returns are disappointing ( See thread on Box Office and Promotion).

Jo

[jo]

USA TODAY's film critic chooses the top ten movies for the first half of 2016!


www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2016/07/05/best-movies-so-far-2016/86549786/



A Hugh movie makes it to the top ten...and it is not XMEN: APOCALYPSE

7. 'Eddie the Eagle'



Eddie (Taron Egerton, left) and his coach (Hugh Jackman) revel in 'Eddie the Eagle.' (Photo: Larry Horricks)


Taron Egerton is proving himself a chameleon early in his career, going from cool Kingsman superspy to dorky Olympic ski hopeful in this entertaining and joyful picture. Paired with Hugh Jackman as a hard-drinking coach with questionable teaching habits, Egerton captures a Rudy-esque vibe playing Eddie Edwards, the real-life Brit who didn’t need to win to succeed.

Too bad the domestic market did not notice it enough

[mamaleh]

Still, USA Today, in practically every hotel I've ever seen, has wide distribution. Maybe this piece will spike interest in the home video.

Ellen

[jo]

Always nice to read compliments to Hugh for his portrayal and his screen presence!

www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2016/04/16/eddie-the-eagle-starring-hugh-jackman-is-the-best-worst-movie-we/

[jo]

Late review...but definitely amusing commentary on EDDIE THE EAGLE


twodollarcinema.blogspot.com/2017/06/up-back-forward-down.html?m=1