Eddie the Eagle

Eddie the Eagle

Director: Dexter Fletcher

Rating: B

‘Eddie the Eagle’ was advertised as the “feel good movie of the year”, and you really have to give it to mainstream filmmakers, that’s exactly what their movies do; make you ‘feel good’. This good feeling then dissipates into thin air, much like the way a fart does, as you walk out of the cinema, and you are reminded about the other times that you were inspired for a solid twenty minutes from a film about a boy who had a dream, told he wasn’t able to achieve it, met a mentor, had a training montage, and finally achieved that dream. 

Faithful to this formula, Eddie the Eagle is based on the real life story of British amateur ski jumper Michael ‘Eddie’ Edwards (Taron Egerton) who, despite being no born athlete, had an undying dream to compete in the Olympics and ultimately gets to compete because of a loophole in the system. His disciplined and loveable naïve qualities are contrasted to his jaded alcoholic mentor Bronson Peary (Hugh Jackman), who had the natural talent but lacked Eddie’s never-give-up attitude. I don’t need to explain the rest of the movie; you might as well go watch Rocky. 

The movie did lightly brush upon the bosom of polemical topics in sport. Not shown in the movie, the ‘Eddie the Eagle rule’, was instituted by the International Olympic Committee in response to amateurs like Eddy who only get to qualify because of loopholes of vacant sports. Should the Olympic spirit accommodate amateur athletes who only want to compete for the sake of competing despite their chances of winning? Are such people taken seriously or do they embarrass the establishment? How far can talentless but inspired hard workers actually go? From the movie, I don’t know. 

Perhaps Director Dexter Fletcher should think about directing a thriller next, as he does do a good job at making you anxious and uncomfortable in the climax of a jump as you wonder if the Eagle will land or break his spine.  

This article first appeared in Issue 11, 2016.
Posted 12:45pm Sunday 15th May 2016 by Taoran Li.