AboveDeepBuggy Some things I liked some I did not.

Protraph Lack of good storyline.

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Kinley This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

YourFamilyExpert With Clint Eastwood directing, Morgan Freeman playing Nelson Mandela, and Matt Damon sharing top billing, how could Invictus fail? The answer is that it doesn't, as this rich historical drama provides great insight into South African history and the philosophy of one of the 20th century's greatest leaders. The film tells the true story of Mandela's presidency as he struggles to overcome prejudice and years of hatred and violence between blacks and whites. Seeing in the nation's rugby team an opportunity to unite his people, he befriends the team's captain (Damon).While loaded with true-life sports movie clichés, Invictus overcomes them through the strength of its acting and the attention to political detail, from the desire of blacks to take back their country to the fears of whites about losing their voice in the newly democratic nation. I was fascinated and moved by the power of Mandela's philosophies of forgiveness, respect, and fellowship to steer both groups in the direction of unity. Invictus has brief strong language but is otherwise free of potentially offensive content.

eric262003 Even though he's coming on in age, Clint Eastwood can still dazzle his audience, even when he's behind the camera. For a grizzled veteran, he still manages to come up with good quality pictures, even if not all of them are entirely great. The last really good cinematic masterpiece he truly made before "Invictus" was "Million Dollar Baby". He does have a tendency of over-casting non-performers in his movies like he did in "Gran Torino", even though his intentions were good. But nobody can deny that Eastwood is master in his craft and the productions of his film are taken through heart even if they're not always electrifying. "Invictus" is a very well-made movie based on a true story with touchy subjects and issues that will have you pondering for hours to come. In 1994 three years after South African political activist Nelson Mandela gets released from prison after spending three decades there, he is now the new president of South Africa and his quest to bring unity between the races with the country. When an all Caucasian rugby team who's been struggling for a championship, Mandela decides to step up and fix the team to becoming the best they can be and to erase the divinity within the races in the country. Morgan Freeman was the perfect casting choice as Mandela. He decides that the South African team the Springboks have potential to be championship material and there he meets up with the captain of the rugby team Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon)and felt his first quest was to inject unification among the Springboks as a symbolical way so that the country can have a team to be proud of and the pivotal step to expunge apartheid forever. So we see kind of a two-plot story behind the movie, Invictus". One we have Mandela adjusting his new role as the leader of his country as he's faced with plenty of turmoil that includes outrage, uproarious fear and racism. One pivotal scene was when his all-black security staff was being questioned by the Secret Service guys and later accepted. The other plot is Pienaar's initiative to encourage his rugby team to a winning season while taking part in the activities emanating in the country and trying to come to terms of a nation that's under a political unrest at the time. In one memorable scene Pienaar and his team visit the jail that where Mandela was incarcerated and enter his cell. It was a very subtle moment where the drama in this movie is the most important. The two plots climatically join together as Mandela is seated to see this emotional and very important World Cup of the 1995 Rugby Championships. This final game will not just keep the sports fans enthralled, but the setup is structured beautifully. Eastwood went out of his way to create a country that at the time was struggling with politics and race issues and makes you feel for the people involved in the movie and the World Cup final match is an added bonus to the intriguing scenes depicted in the movie. Though it's a great movie, there are still flaws as well. Unless you know the rules of rugby which a lot of people may not be familiar with (nothing personal) you might be lost in the rules and the way the game is operated. But it wasn't a huge drawback for me, I just wanted to see some good sports. Also there's this rather weird scene in the movie that's supposedly happened in real life, but Eastwood directs it like he's manipulating us into making it feel like a political thriller when it really isn't. But those burps won't spoil my liking for this movie. Even though it's not a perfect film, "Invictus" is still provocative and entertaining and raises a lot of questions and if a movie can generate food for thought, it ranks high in my grading system. It truly has something for those who are enthused by political dramas plus it has something to offer for those who love sports enthusiasts.

Tim Little This is the same as every other identikit sporting movie - of the underdog overcoming the odds to triumph.Predictable : The action/training scenes could be transposed from any college/ice hockey/baseball pitch in any number of tedious movies to the miraculously recovering South Africa . Just change the colour of the kits and remove the ludicrous protective padding and headgear and you have Invictus. Clichéd : The cuts to the commentator who pops up to spell out the gigantic scale of the task ahead (for anyone too stupid to follow the plot) are laughable but, it seems, essential for any movie of this type. The hugely mis-cast (again) Matt Damon as a mini-me of the South African team captain making the inspirational speeches in the scrum. The shots of 'ordinary' people watching it in bars and leaping from the sofas of their homes.Nauseating : The 747 performing illegal manoeuvres a couple of hundred feet over the stadium. The old (white) presidential guards enjoying a jolly good game of rugby with the new (black)security detail in the grounds of the Presidential palace. Matt Damons' visit to Mandelas' place of imprisonment is just cringe-worthy. The action on the field just soon gets tedious.I would have been far more interested in knowing how the 'new' South Africa bagged the hosting rights of the international tournament and the importance (or not) of it to the relatively new nations' population.All in all, avoid this simplistic nonsense - unless you are one of the few who will watch rugby in any form (and I know of a couple). If you didn't already know the story, you will after ten minutes into the film.Who would've thought that uniting a nation after decades of internal division, violence and oppression could be solved by a couple of games of 'rugger'. That's Hollywood.

Prismark10 I once was lying on a beach in South Africa and noticed a bunch of white school kids jumping off the school bus and heading towards the waves but they were not there to swim or surf. They had a rugby ball with them and in effect running with the ball while others tried to tackle them. It was a beautiful sight.It just shows how popular and important rugby is to the whites in South Africa. To the blacks, soccer is more important. To them rugby was the game of the oppressor, hence why they would support the opposing team.Invictus mashes up the early months of Nelson Mandela's Presidency of post apartheid South Africa and the Springboks preparation of the Rugby World Cup to be held in South Africa in 1995.The ending of apartheid meant that South Africa were allowed to compete in international competitions and the hosting of the rugby World Cup was swift reward.The film therefore has two threads. Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) treading carefully in a country where the white minority are fearful of the future as shown by the distrust with his own security personnel which now includes the black ANC members and the white security team of the former president.At the same time you have the national rugby team lead by captain Francois Pienaar (Matt Damon) whose team is almost all white, which has little support from the black majority who want the team renamed and worse they are on a losing streak, criticised by former players and pundits. Its a team lacking in confidence and support.Invictus is a film of how the country and President gets behind the team and how the team responds. Its a true story which resulted in a South African victory against the All Blacks who had the fearsome man mountain, Jonah Lomu. The abiding image of the final was Nelson Mandela appearing in the final to greet the team wearing the green and gold of the Springboks.The film is directed by two times best director Oscar winner, Clint Eastwood. A criticism of Eastwood is that he is the epitome of an efficient director lacking a signature style. Invictus is a good example of this. If you missed the starting titles, you would actually think that its made by a solid British director than an American legend.It is a dependable film with some substance. How can you not fail with such a true story? You have the inspiring Mandela played by Freeman with a twinkle in his eye. Damon is more earnest as Pienaar realising that he needs to lead more than just a sub-par team to the Rugby World Cup but needs to reunite decades of racial divisions in the new South Africa.However the film never goes above such platitudes. I imagined this film in the hands of a younger Richard Attenborough who would never had stooped to use CGI to fill the stadiums. He would had got 60,000 extras and made the film soar and given it a harder edge and I do not mean just in the rugby scenes which seemed a little off to me lacking the blood and guts of the actual game. Eastwood leaves you with a soft centre.