Oct 28 2009'Invictus' Trailer: This Would Make More Sense If I Understood Any Element of Rugby
Eat your Oscar bait: the trailer for Clint Eastwood's Invictus. Based on John Carlin's book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation, it's a film that shows how a rugby game was able to unite a racially divided nation, and how, apparently, a rugby game can be won if the president tells the captain, "Come on, guys, win this rugby game!" Simple as that:
Thanks to Mike, who also accurately points out that, on the poster, Neal McDonough needs to sue Damon for face plagiarism.
Reader Comments
1. Leo N. - October 28, 2009 1:07 PM
Okay, a few technical points:
a) Matt Damon is about 1/4 of the actual size of Francois Pienaar—and of every other player on the SA rugby team.
b) You Americans just can't get our accent right, can you?
c) This film does a poor job of showing what an unintelligent, murderous bitch Winnie is.
2. wesxninja - October 28, 2009 1:17 PM
looks really good to me
3. DannyBoy - October 28, 2009 1:22 PM
Who is winnie and why is she a murderous bitch? You MUST be serious as you didn't even tout your "FIRST" status.
4. mike - October 28, 2009 1:23 PM
@leo n: who's winnie? educate me. also, i agree that we americans can't get the SA accent. but we can't really get any accents. so it's nothing personal. but for what it's worth, i think SA is the hardest accent to nail. australian might be easiest.
5. Leo N. - October 28, 2009 1:37 PM
@3 & 4: Hehe, I have to agree, our accent is very strange. di Caprio almost nailed it in blood diamond, though. Winnie is Mr Mandela's ex-wife (she was already his ex at the time of his release, in case you care). She's touted as the "mother of the nation," but her specialty in the old days was "necklacing" people (putting a tyre filled with petrol around a BLACK person's neck, and burning them to death with it). She also tortured a 14-year-old black kid to death because she thought he was colluding with the other side.
As for the firsters: http://www.studio4t4.com/tw/theblog/?p=89
6. bob - October 28, 2009 1:52 PM
Eeeeek. Cringe-fest. Freeman looks an especially poor choice of actor too.
7. Kiaya - October 28, 2009 2:49 PM
Crap! I thought this was going to be mostly Freeman being awesome
it's an effing sports movie.... who in the hell wants to watch movies about sports anymore, unless you're 12?
8. Jonah Lomu - October 28, 2009 3:39 PM
Clint better mention that all of the players in the NZ team except 3 (who went for pizza) had food poisoning for the final, in the writing that comes up just before the credits, in an extra scene at the end or at least a comical shot of the players having to rush to the loo at some point.
I guess the whole uniting a nation thing was pretty cool though (albeit on false pretences!)
9. sully - October 28, 2009 4:37 PM
FREE MANDELLA!
10. doomspray - October 28, 2009 6:15 PM
@8 hahaha, sour grapes...
all blacks = biggest chokers in rugby
maybe in 2011
11. jaime - October 28, 2009 6:34 PM
what don't you understand about rugby?
american football is a twisted, wimpy copy of rugby, which is better, older, and more manly.
12. claire - October 28, 2009 7:00 PM
i don't remember feeling united when we won that game.
13. GRant - October 28, 2009 8:03 PM
That's cause you dirty Yappies poisoned the AB's!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
14. Prop - October 28, 2009 8:29 PM
so damon is supposed to be playing a forward? Thats laughable
15. Jonah Lomu - October 29, 2009 5:14 AM
@14 yeah I truly doubt that Damon is tipping 108 kilos. Maybe they have done some Gandalf type camera trick.
I believe that this game should be turned into a movie next, it's way more fulfilling (ie smashing the convicts) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utdf4E20IYw. Two hours of Jonah Lomu smashing Mike Catt would be good too http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN3KuenjmaY.
16. James - October 29, 2009 3:09 PM
Not everyone is drinking the kool aid about this movie, see:
http://africasacountry.com/2009/10/28/it-wasnt-rugby/
17. therush - October 29, 2009 3:52 PM
@11
You'd better hope the US doesn't send it's "pussy" NFL players to contend in Olympic rugby. No rugby player would be able to tackle AP after he's built up a full head of steam (which he doesn't always get to do while running through the line).
And I'm pretty sure any "forward" running for the touch or whatever would get lit up by Patrick Willis. You got any 260 lb rugby players capable of running a 4.5 40? Didn't think so.
18. Tommy - October 29, 2009 5:00 PM
Im just glad someones finally made a film about rugby. Maybe an american to make it wasnt the best choice..... And I have to disagree with the rush. I genuinly dont think an NFL player would have the stamina to last a whole game. Theres 15 men who run and work all 80mins, not swap round every few tackles. There big and strong yes, but how many of those amazing buiding up steam runs can they do in a match. But then again i am obviously biased!
19. jaime - October 29, 2009 5:28 PM
i don't have the slightest idea what a 4.5 40 is, but look at any video of 210 lb bryan habana running and tell me he's not good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYVz2OkXMU0
rugby players don't use pads or helmets or any of those things.
and rugby doesn't stop every 13 seconds. as tommy said, they run for 80 minutes, so they are in excellent physical shape.
in american football half the players are there just to crash against each other, what the hell is that?
nfl players might weigh 260lb but that's because they're looking for another type of body, a heavy one that can't be taken down or can take other ones down.
rugby players must be strong AND fast, and agile. it's like comparing cows and horses.
south africa's john smit, 275 pounds. try to survive that...
20. Frank - October 30, 2009 1:31 AM
Did... did Nelson Mandela just get put in the Magic Negro role in a sports movie? I hope not.
South Africa should put some of those District 9 aliens on the team, they'd kick ass at rugby.
21. Shazaam - October 30, 2009 12:16 PM
@22 ?
@23 ?
@ American Football fans. The sports are really quite different. Rugby players wouldnt be great at american football and american football players wouldnt be great at rugby. I prefer Rugby because it isn't made for tv (stoppages), doesn't use all the gear the A F does, is actually played by other countries and is more fun to watch (cause I grew up wih it tho I guess).
At least American Football wasn't derived from a girls sport like the other major ones there. (Basketball = Netball, Baseball = Rounders, Ice Hockey = (field) Hockey)
Go the ABs!
22. Shazaam - October 30, 2009 12:17 PM
addendum
more fun to watch and play
23. jackedy jack - November 4, 2009 6:01 PM
what is this rugby did it died?
24. leigh - November 5, 2009 4:36 AM
@24 Ice hockey being derived from field hockey? just because the names are similar doesn't mean they derive from each other. there is no shared history between the games, they just happen to have similar methods of play, thus tied names. I would love to hear how shinty, shinny, and ooadijik, (the fore-runners of ice hockey, but you knew that) have anything to do with field hockey. Your creative logic has also been applied to the idea of ice hockey deriving from a "girls sport" which founded it's first women's team (the Molesey Ladies) 10 years after the founding of the first hockey team (McGill).
in the future, do us all a favour and stick to sports which you actually understand... might i suggest bed-wetting?