'Eddie the Eagle' Is the First Movie That Truly Inspired Me in a Long Time

I got the amazing opportunity to go see an early screening of ‘Eddie the Eagle’ thanks to Moviepilot, and let me tell you something…it did not disappoint.

I am an avid sports fan of almost any athletic activity; Football, Basketball, Baseball, Lacrosse, Soccer, and Hockey you name it and I will have probably watched it. So when I watch sports movies I usually go into it with the high expectation for this to capture my attention and for me to fall in love with it like I am with the sport it is depicting. Unfortunately more times than not I am disappointed when it does not measure up to my high standards in a sports film, but with ‘Eddie the Eagle’ this was far from the case

This was one of the first sports movies in a long time that I genuinely enjoyed watching almost every moment of. From the music, comedy, dialogue, and of course brilliant performances from Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman.

The film is about the true story of Michael “Eddie” Edwards who overcomes great odds to become an Olympic Ski Jumper for Great Britain.

The message of the story is simple; never give up until you accomplish your dreams, no matter the odds. It’s pretty generic at first sight, but when you watch the movie and truly see the obstacles that Eddie has to overcome and his perseverance through it all, it really makes you realize just how far heart can take you in life.

Eddie was not gifted with tremendous athletic ability; he actually seemed to have the natural athletic ability of a dung beetle. Anyone who watches sports knows just how important having athletic upside is in the sports world, for many it is more important than anything else, but Eddie disproves this.

In the movie you get two sides of the spectrum. You have Eddie who lacks the natural gifted ability and athleticism to be an Olympic level athlete but had more heart than anyone else in the world. Then you have Hugh Jackman’s character Bronson Peary - who acts as Eddie's mentor and coach - who was one of the most gifted ski jumpers in the world, but lacked the heart and discipline to be an Olympic Athlete.

Director Dexter Fletcher and the whole writing team did a great job of showing these two different kinds of athletes. It shows that in the end all of the athletic talent in the world means nothing if you do not have the heart, and all of the heart in the world will overcome any athletic shortcomings you have.

It is a cliché moral for a story, but it feels different from this perspective. It truly makes you realize that anyone can do anything that they want if they have the drive and passion for something.

Eddie must have been listening to the all great and powerful Shia LaBouf because he sure as hell "did not let his dreams be dreams." He kept working no matter what pit falls came his way.

One of the things that differed ‘Eddie the Eagle’ from a typical sports movie is the never ending heart break that Eddie has to overcome. It is not a simple road to his dream and it wasn’t as cut and dry as most sports films are depicting its protagonist.

You sit and watch Eddie go through all this pain and turmoil, but keep his spirits up and never waver, even in the moments it truly looks like he will never reach the Olympics.

It makes you fall in love with this character and feel the same feelings he has in the moment, because we have all been through the same emotions. There were times that this movie made me more nervous than any horror or thriller movie, because I desperately wanted to see him succeed and I felt the same nerves that he did when he was competing.

Taron Egerton’s performance played a large role in the audience falling in love with the film, he truly became Eddie. I had reservations about his acting ability prior to this film, but they have been put to rest. Taron Egerton is quickly on this rise and his acting talent was not wasted in this film.

This was the best sports movie that I have ever seen and truly inspired me. The last sports movie that gave me this same feeling was ‘Invincible’ starring Mark Wahlberg, but this is different and the reason being, because Eddie is not athletic and he honestly is not portrayed to be a highly intelligent person. He is just an awkward British guy who has had a dream since he was a small boy and he never gave on an almost impossible dream. It is easily going to go down as this generations ‘Rudy.’

I cannot go into much further details without spoiling the amazing story, but I highly advise you to go and see this movie. If you want to see Deadpool for a third time that is understandable, but this movie is not one you want to miss.

Take your children and let them see how far heart and perseverance can take them in life in not just sports, but anything they want to do in life. It will also inspire yourself, the movie drove the point home that Eddie was much, much older than anyone that attempts to accomplish the goal’s he sets out for and it reminds you that is never too late.

‘Eddie the Eagle’ opens in theatres February 26th starring Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman.