Certificate: 12A
Running Time: 123 mins
UK Distributor: Met Film Distribution / Prime Video
UK Release Date: 6 December 2024 (theatrical) / 16 January 2025 (streaming)
Jharrel Jerome, Jennifer Lopez, Bobby Cannavale, Michael Peña, Don Cheadle, Shawn Hatosy, Chimechi Oparanozie, Parker Sack, Jordan Wallace, Benjamin Barrett, Corey Jantzen, Shane Sparks
William Goldenberg (director), Eric Champnella, Alex Harris and John Hindman (writers), Ben Affleck, David Crockett, Andy Fraser, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Gary Lewis and Anthony Robles (producers), Alexandre Desplat (composer), Salvatore Totino (cinematographer), Brett M. Reed (editor)
A disabled young wrestler (Jerome) competes for a championship title…
One of the first shots in director William Goldenberg’s sports drama Unstoppable shows a Rocky poster on the wall. Mere scenes later, the central athlete – Anthony Robles, the one-time wrestling champion who happens to have been born with one leg – is making his own climb up the same flight of steps toward the Philadelphia Museum of Art that a certain Balboa once famously conquered. The film even features a rousing climactic match between a much more experienced opponent, though in this case the Apollo Creed to Robles’ Rocky is almost like a foe straight out of The Karate Kid (funnily enough, also directed by Rocky’s John G. Avildsen).
It’s fair to say that Rocky is the main source of inspiration for Unstoppable, as it has been for dozens of other inspirational sports movies over the years, with Goldenberg’s film keeping alive that Oscar-winning classic’s rousing spirit as its own, much more factual athlete goes through all the dramatic motions in his professional and personal lives. In that regard, don’t expect this to be a revisionist take on the reliable sports movie formula, but as a solid dramatization of a genuinely uplifting story it gets the job done.
The film opens with Robles (portrayed by Jharrel Jerome) swiftly coming out on top of the national high school wrestling championships during the late 2000s, defying most expectations due to his missing limb. Shortly afterwards, he decides to forego a cushy scholarship at a prestigious college in order to attend Arizona State University, which isn’t as regarded for its wrestling department as the likes of Iowa, the home to some of the country’s most prominent wrestlers. Despite the scepticism of his coach Sean Charles (Don Cheadle), Robles manages to impress everyone with his fierce and – yes – unstoppable nature, eventually earning him a coveted spot on Sean’s team. However, his biggest challenge lies beyond the wrestling mats, as he and his mother Judy (Jennifer Lopez) often find themselves at the verbal and sometimes physical mercy of Judy’s abusive partner Rich (Bobby Cannavale), which initially causes Robles plenty of grief as he struggles to rise in the ranks of wrestling before it’s too late.
Structurally speaking, Unstoppable is nothing you haven’t seen before. The script, by the trio of Eric Champnella, Alex Harris and John Hindman, closely follows the familiar sports movie pattern, with nearly every identifiable trait you can imagine, from the rousing speeches to the swelling musical score, and of course training montages by the dozen. That doesn’t necessarily make it a bad movie, just a conventional one – but as with most movies like this nowadays, it all boils down to the execution, and there’s plenty to enjoy about how director Goldenberg (previously an Oscar-winning editor for Ben Affleck’s Argo, with Affleck also serving as a producer here) plays with these familiar tropes. There’s a nice rhythm to the film, with the debut director finding a healthy flow within scenes of Jharrel Jerome’s Robles pushing himself to borderline excess during said training, not to mention filling his locker with Post-It notes of motivational quotes, and the more tender family drama at the heart of this narrative.
The latter, though, is only slightly less successfully conveyed than the sports conventions. There is some powerful acting on Jennifer Lopez’s part, playing someone who like her son is slowly working up the courage to be more than they currently are, but much of this abuse sub-plot pretty much plays out how you’d expect it to, right down to the casting of Bobby Cannavale as this rather one-note dickhead dad (though in fairness, the actor is good at playing this kind of role, at least when he’s able to). At times, it feels like a melodramatic Lifetime movie in how the systemic cycle of abuse is covered here, as the script hardly dives deep enough into this relationship to where it’s plausible as to why someone like Lopez’s character would keep giving this guy a chance, despite his blatant sliminess even when he’s acting all charming around her. It does lead to a couple of strong crowd-pleasing moments, including one scene with Lopez in a bank, but otherwise it brings the movie to a significant halt whenever it comes to light.
But while Unstoppable may not always work, the film is plentiful, feel-good sports movie viewing. It’s got enough rousing moments to leave you in a good mood, and a healthy attitude toward the main subject’s disability, whose singular leg is rarely singled out in a derogatory way and, more importantly, does not solely define his character. You’re so drawn to Robles’ indomitable spirit that you hardly even notice the fact that he regularly uses crutches to walk around, in part because Jharrel Jerome delivers a gripping lead performance that highlights the swagger and charisma that made Robles an endearing and likeable personality outside of his chosen sport, and makes him a protagonist who’s very easy to root for, regardless of his missing limb.
It is a perfectly decent movie filled with lots of good moments that are unevenly spread out, though if you’re after an Amazon-backed movie that takes the familiar sports movie formula and actually shakes it up a fair bit, I would recommend holding out until The Fire Inside (out in February here in the UK). But until then, Unstoppable will do just fine, with its fine crowd-pleasing moments to make Rocky himself proud.
Unstoppable offers plenty of familiar but well-executed sports movie conventions that are elevated by strong turns from Jharrel Jerome and Jennifer Lopez, though a major sub-plot involving domestic violence is handled in a much less interesting way and brings the otherwise decently paced movie to a halt.
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