seems almost tailor made for a Hollywood film. Born with only one leg, his right, he overcame the prejudices of those around him and his own physical limitations to become a champion wrestler. Though coaches at the top wrestling programs couldn鈥檛 see his potential, he was undeterred, coasting on his own determination and his mother Judy鈥檚 ( ) unwavering belief in him.
The film version is aptly titled 鈥淯nstoppable,鈥� and it鈥檚 getting a limited theatrical release starting Friday before it streams on Prime Video on Jan. 16. Directed by William Goldenberg, the Oscar-winning editor of making his feature directorial debut, 鈥淯nstoppable鈥� has all the makings of a rousing sports drama that鈥檚 sure to have audiences cheering in theaters or on their couches. You鈥檇 have to be a certain kind of grinch not to get swept up in the hurdles and triumphs, especially with such a compelling lead performance from . And yet for a story about a guy who shattered expectations, the film itself is rather conventional.
Eschewing the temptation to tell his story from birth, 鈥淯nstoppable's鈥� arc begins at the end of high school. He chose long ago to not rely on a prosthetic and is comfortable in his body. His sport is wrestling, which he鈥檒l joke later that he chose because it was the only one where the other guy couldn鈥檛 run away from him.
Though he鈥檚 winning at the high school level, the exciting college programs, like Iowa, are not interested in taking a chance on him. His best offer is a full ride at Drexel in Philadelphia, which everyone agrees is better than walking on at one of the better-known schools. But complications on the home front force his hand and soon enough he鈥檚 walking on at Arizona State University, trying to prove himself to a coach, Sean Charles (Don Cheadle), who had already advised him to go elsewhere.
Mom as eldest son鈥檚 biggest cheerleader isn鈥檛, but Judy has a lot going on. She had Anthony at age 16 and, when we meet up with them, is married and has four young children with Rick (Bobby Cannavale), a toxic husband and father who goes long on the virtues of making the right choices and being a man and providing for his family (which, spoiler, he doesn鈥檛). It鈥檚 a very one-note role for Cannavale, just a shorthand villain who鈥檚 always just around the corner ready to ruin things, whether it鈥檚 dinner or Anthony鈥檚 plans to move across the country.
Regardless of how much this is true, 鈥淯nstoppable鈥� relies too heavily on the cliches of a working-class domestic drama and Rick鈥檚 vileness which perhaps is a little insulting to Judy鈥檚 experience. This is a woman who managed to achieve incredible things (revealed at the end) despite being a single mother to five. While Lopez is magnetic as always, it鈥檚 hard not to wonder what this character might have looked like if one of the three credited screenwriters had been a woman. Judy does get her own arc and demonstrates her agency in a mic drop kind of scene, but it seems like a rather small moment to concentrate on once you鈥檝e learned what she went on to accomplish.
The film is really best when it鈥檚 about the sport, the impossible training including a run up a rocky hill that Anthony does on his crutches, the matches, and Anthony鈥檚 relationships with his coaches who become de facto father figures for him. Michael Pe帽a, as his high school coach, is particularly impactful in his limited scenes, and Cheadle is always a joy. But it鈥檚 ultimately Jerome鈥檚 show, and a good one at that. Let鈥檚 hope it鈥檚 the first of many leading film roles for him.
鈥淯nstoppable,鈥� an Amazon MGM Studios release in select theaters Friday and streaming on Prime Video on Jan. 16, is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association for 鈥渟ome strong language and thematic material.鈥� Running time: 116 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
