Let's get the bad news out of the way right off the bat - this is your usual sports movie complete with training montage, lovable underdog, mean people who work for the establishment and want to keep the hero down, inspiring coach who has lessons to learn himself, crowd embracing the hero, and... well, we don't have a love interest. Honestly, it's just as well.
This is based on a true story where Taron Egerton (of Kingsman fame) plays a guy who dreams of being in the Olympics, but he's not very athletic. After a series of disappointments, he stumbles upon Hugh Jackman, who was trained by the legendary instructor played by Christopher Walken. Hugh dismisses him like everyone else does, but eventually Hugh realizes that his own lost dreams might be found again in this young upstart.
So, the rest of the movie is spent following this young man as he tries to obtain his dreams, despite being mocked by his competition, his own coach, and even his own father. Is it a story of redemption? Is it a story about following your own dreams? Maybe. And maybe I've become too cynical to watch this kind of movie again, but it was fairly predictable, and it was not particularly engaging.
It should be an inspiring movie. Why am I not being inspired? Is it because I know that they changed the rules since this took place, and there's no way that this could ever happen again? Is it because I've never liked the Olympics? Is it because the winter Olympics are even less interesting than the regular Olympics? I think it's possible that it's because this movie takes a dorky, geeky non-jock as its hero and has him win only when he can become the most athletic person that he can be. Why can't he win by becoming a programmer?
Direction was okay
Acting was okay
Dialogue was not good
CG was pretty bad
Cinematography was okay
Bottom Line: Run of the mill movie does run of the mill stuff.
1.75/5