Finally, the Philly Sports Phan and "The Wife" made it out to see "Invincible". I, like 95% of the people I talked to, totally enjoyed it. Since the basic story has been played out in the local media ad nauseum, I won't bore with the story line. I'll just point out some things which were interesting to me:
-Marky Mark Wahlberg did an outstanding job portraying Vince Papale, especially during the acting scenes. He also did a pretty decent job pulling off the football scenes. He took some hellacious hits which surprised the hell out of me and made the movie much more acceptable.
-How could you make a movie including Dick Vermeill and NOT have him cry??? Did the screen writer research the guy at all? Couldn't Greg Kinnear have suggested to the director, "hey, the scene may be more believable if I break into tears while Vince he has made the team"? Vermeill cries at the drop of a hat. This was a golden opportunity missed. All that being said, Kinnear did a great job as Vermeill. Dick has a certain vulnerability and compassion to him that Kinnear was clearly able to display.
-The detail they put into the football scenes was very good. The actual play wasn't up to the standards of "Any Given Sunday", but it was better than "Remember the Titans". However, thank god, the producers received authorization from the NFL to use their uniforms, player names, etc. The movie was SIGNIFICANTLY more believable as a result. For me, it was really cool to see a movie which included former NFL stars such as Bill Bergey, Harold Carmichael, John Bunting, Roger Stauback, Ed "Too Tall" Jones, Randy White, and Bradley Van Pelt. I had all their football cards as a kid and it brought back great memories.
-The special effects team did a great job recreating the Vet in the CGI shots. I didn't care for the track around the "Vet" as that never existed. Couldn't they have removed the Franklin Field track from the shot via CGI?
-I thought they did a pretty decent job portraying the city, the 700 level fans, and the passion of our city for the Eagles.
-I really like the chick that played Vince's girlfriend. She was hot, but not so hot that you couldn't picture her as your South Philly Goumar.
-Thanks from the heads up from regular reader, Nick, as Tony Luke's cameo was great.
-The one thing that surprised me is that the Mafia Actors Union (you know, guys like Frank Vincent, Big Pussy, and Paulie Walnuts) totally missed the opportunity to expand their horizons to a sports movie. It didn't really feel like some of the bit players were South Philly I-Talians. While the actor who played Vince's father gave a spine tingling pep talk to Vince, I didn't really buy him as a South Philly guy. He was much more realistic as the Irish father-in-law from "Mystic River" who told Sean Penn's character that he still had "domestic responsibilities" to worry about upon the death of his teenage daughter from a prior marriage. Call me crazy, but I think Frank Vincent would have been much more believable in that role. Plus, while Vince's friends were all excently cast and had the feel of South Philly guys, the crowd at Max's bar would have been much more believable with the inclusion of an Italian such Big Pussy or Bobby Bacala wearing the 70's equivalent of a track suit.
-The movie also had a minor role for a guy that portrayed former Eagles' center, Dennis Franks. I got a huge kick out of this as Franks was an assistant coach for my high school football team. How many of you guys can say you were coached by a guy that was portrayed in a movie???
Finally, the Philly Sports Phan did tear up a few times and there were about three or four other moments which caused chills to run up my spine. If this movie doesn't do the same to you, then I have to say you aren't a true phan. This is a must see movie for all fans of our beloved Eagles.
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