Eddie the Eagle

The famous Calgary Olympics did not only have the Jamaican bobsledders, but also – of course – the English ski jumper Eddie Eagle Edwards. And just like the Jamaican bobsledders, he was able to draw all the attention to himself and this movie is about that. I liked the way this movie tells Eddie’s story with absolutely no embellishments. Eddie is introduced as a sort of a silly dreamer who wants to get to the Olympics, so he learns to ski jump in a year and somehow qualifies for the Olympics. In a single year. He must have really embarrassed all the professional ski jumpers who have been training since they were 6 years old; he truly did, in all his splendor. And the amazing drunkard Hugh Jackman has helped him so well that I had the feeling like I was watching Cool Runnings for the first time. That’s also why the Jamaican flag was mentioned in one of the scenes, because the most important thing isn’t really winning, but taking part. And even though the athletes have it complicated, the flying Finn said it very nicely at the end of the movie. (07/11/2016)

A movie that gives you wings. A blend of a boilerplate autobiographical tale of a journey towards a dream and the most sincere, unconcealed love and admiration for the title character and the sport itself, presented in a comedy of life, the kind that the crowded film competition doesn’t produce every year. It's an unpretentious story, but its formal art, valuably distant from dull idealization and its beautiful happy ending caress the soul more than most. Jackman is cool, Egerton is awesome. 85% (21/04/2016)

A silly family story about a moron following his dream. It's hard to see what this is actually doing in A-list filmmaking, because you're not going to get a more clichéd story this year. Hugh Jackman's character is utterly predictable and, more importantly, severely boring and uninteresting. Taron Egerton plays someone that is supposed to be endearing and we are supposed to sympathise with him, but it doesn't happen. The attempt to recreate the non-confrontational attitude and lightweight drama of Cool Runnings is eye-rolling and annoying, because this patchwork has neither charm nor a interesting story. The only thing that saves it from a total collapse are a few good moments and a really novel ski jumping theme. (11/06/2016)

Back when Michael Edwards was competing in the Olympics, I was pretty crazy about ski jumpers as a fan, so Eddie the Eagle is a very fond memory of the years of my youth. Probably what I appreciate most is the lightness and wit with which it is shot, which is not very common in sports films. I would like to say a few words about the cast. Taron Egerton played the lead role with honor and was very believable. Now, I'm finally getting to Hugh Jackman, who I've never really liked. However, the role of the coach was probably tailor-made for him, and I liked him in it. I may have to rethink my relationship with him. Here, his charisma splashed out of him in all directions and I can't let that go unnoticed... (19/05/2020)

Sure, some of the characters are incredibly clichéd, even though well-acted - this applies, for example, to Hugh Jackman's character, who has such charisma that he still manages to captivate you. However, the film is filled with such positive energy that you don't care about any flaws because you absorb that energy too, and you'll be pleasantly uplifted, touched, and glad that you've seen the film. (30/05/2016)