Clint Eastwood plays it safe with this tale of Mandela and his idea to bring unity to South Africa through rugby. Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon provide the acting clout while Eastwood shapes the direction of the film. I loved Eastwood’s previous outings; Gran Torino, Changeling, Million Dollar Baby and Mystic River – perhaps for the darker side of filmmaking Directed with each. INVICTUS is a modest, self-effacing movie about extraordinary events that chronicles one battle in Nelson Mandela’s war against the past and his journey to reconstruct a brighter future for his people.
The movie’s plot sounds clichéd, and while the film is a lot of the time, the good news is that it’s not overwhelmed by it. I found it bland and slow; the movie will win audiences with the charm of Mandela, but descends into a film about rugby.
