Starring: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman
Distributor: Twentieth Century Fox
Runtime: 106 mins. Reviewed in Apr 2016
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Not every athlete needs to strive for greatness. For some, like Michael ‘Eddie the Eagle’ Edwards, a British ski jumper at the 1988 Winter Olympics, it is the triumph of participation and achieving personal goals which drives them. Similarly, not every film strives for award glory or critical plaudits. Some are shamelessly crafted to elicit a certain response in the audience, and in the case of this biopic, director Dexter Fletcher has delivered. It comes with mountains of cheese and familiar story beats, but ‘Eddie the Eagle’ is an inspiring, feel-good tale for all ages.
Early scenes introduce us to a young Eddie in 1973, complete with a dodgy knee and an Olympics fixation. Growing up in a textbook sports film montage, he tries his hand unsuccessfully at every discipline, desperate to represent Great Britain at the Games. Disparaged by his Dad but encouraged by his Mum, he turns his attention to the Winter Games, picks up a pair of skis and eventually becomes good enough to join the British squad. Here he is confronted by the classist attitudes of the British Olympic Association, so turns his attentions to ski jumping where he will be the only athlete trialling.
Eddie heads to Germany, home to Europe’s premier training facility. Awkwardly trying to garner tutelage from assorted international coaches, he eventually begins to teach himself on the 15 and 40 metre jumps, and his persistence gains the attention of disgraced former jumper (and now full-time alcoholic slash snow plough operator) Bronson Peary. Thinking Eddie won’t have the nerve to attempt the 70 metre jump, he gives him a few pointers. Peary is proved wrong however, when Eddie crashes spectacularly on the 70m slope and is hospitalised. The jumping scenes come packed with high speed dolly moves (where the camera rushes to and fro in straight lines), which capably insert the viewer into the soaring feats of derring-do.
Realising his tutee is far more stubborn than he had anticipated, Peary agrees to coach him towards a berth in the Olympic team. Cue a training montage, cut to Matthew Margeson’s playful, 80’s synth laden score, after which Eddie manages a PB of 38 metres. After the BOA cruelly decide to set a 61 metre minimum jump for qualification, it’s back to the montage, as Eddie and Peary travel between beautiful snowy locales to compete on the Euro circuit. Naturally, he manages the distance in the final tournament. This should not be considered a spoiler – most attendees will know at least the bare bones of the ‘real life’ narrative going into the film, which include his last placing performances at the 1988 Calgary Olympics. These efforts at the Games are the climax, and despite their predictability they are still tense and joyous.
The great enjoyment to be derived from the film is knowing what will transpire but getting swept up in the excitement anyway. It riffs on sports classics like ‘Rocky’ and ‘The Bad News Bears’, even managing a brazen wink to ‘Cool Runnings’, with which it shares so much DNA they could almost be twins. The film relies so heavily and openly upon clichés that it almost manages to transcend them.
Taron Egerton starts playing Eddie as a collection of tics – jutting jaw, constantly adjusting his wire-framed glasses – but he is so sweet and earnest that you quickly invest in the character, making his highs and lows all the more palpable. Bronson Peary was created for the film by screenwriters Sean Macaulay and Simon Kelton, and he is ultimately a case study in clichéd redemption. However, Hugh Jackman still manages to make him watchable and real, giving a gruff yet fatherly performance we have seen from Jackman before (see ‘Real Steel’ or the ‘X-Men’ films) but made no less compelling through familiarity. Jackman and Egerton have a strong repartee, and when fractures occasionally appear in their relationship, both sell their fear and frustration well.
Whether this film is for you is a very personal thing. If you can’t look past its heavy reliance on its forebears in the underdog sports movie genre, then you may be exasperated no end. However, if you’re able to forget that you’ve seen this story in so many guises already, then ‘Eddie the Eagle’ soars.
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