Despite being a crowded genre that borrows from itself frequently, it's hard to resist a good sports underdog story. You may have never played an ounce of football in your life, but I’ll be damned if Rudy doesn’t make you want to do the impossible. The real-life story of Anthony Robles is incredible, and William Goldenberg’s Unstoppable wants to make sure you know it. Despite being born with one leg, he became the 2011 125-pound NCAA wrestling Champion, capping off a 36-0 undefeated season. It’s a story about beating the odds that feels right at home on the big screen and will fit well within the echelon of sports dramas before it.
However, that may be the biggest problem with Unstoppable — it's a little too much like all the movies in this genre. Anthony's story is the main course around which all ingredients are built, but in that respect, there were instances where Unstoppable could have broken the mold and dove into the complexities of the other characters within this story. It feels a bit like the film has a checklist and is dutifully going through it to be an effectively uplifting story, and though it works, Unstoppable never truly finds an identity and complexity of its own.
Nothing Will Stand in the Way of Jharrel Jerome
Born with one leg, Anthony Robles defies expectations to become a champion wrestler in college, competing against the very school that rejected him.
- Release Date
- October 6, 2024
- Director
- William Goldenberg
- Cast
- Jennifer Lopez , Bobby Cannavale , Shawn Hatosy , Don Cheadle , Michael Pena , Jharrel Jerome , Julianna Gamiz , Timothy Beal , Noen Perez , Alex Barone , Jacob John Caldwell , Josh Stone , Evan Shafran , Kaleb Shorey , Mason Eaglin , Carlos Solórzano , Roman Thomson , Tande Mungwa , Neil Wachs , Mateo Ray Garcia , Benjamin Barrett , Gabe Kessler , Serenity Starr Foreman , Parker Sack , Christopher Blonski , David Sargsyan , Stewart Jewett , Chrissy Bergeron
- Runtime
- 116 Minutes
- Writers
- John Hindman , Eric Champnella , Alex Harris
- Another amazing performance from Jharrel Jerome,
- The wrestling scenes are full of tension and excitement.
- Unstoppable is too tethered to the familiar beats of other sports dramas.
- Many of the supporting characters don't get time to have an identity
Unstoppable begins at the end of high school, and Robles (Jerome) has beyond proven himself to be an exceptional athlete despite many colleges overlooking him. Iowa University is the college wrestling mecca, and Anthony has his heart dead set on going there. But they, along with other colleges, give him the cold shoulder because of his disability. Drexel University is the one school that comes along and offers him a full-ride scholarship. Anthony’s family is struggling with money, so that seems like perfect timing. However, Anthony wants to compete at the highest level, which sometimes means you must go through the most arduous paths.
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Any sports biopic that follows this path needs a solid lead to bring it home. Jharrel Jerome fits the bill, exhibiting grit, determination, and humanity in portraying Robles. He brings the same amount of visceral emotion in his eyes and speech and subtly effective facial expressions that he brought to the award-winning miniseries, When They See Us (and the underrated I'm a Virgo).
The writing team of Eric Champnella, Alex Harris, and John Hindman set the foundation around which Unstoppable orbits. Within Anthony’s slow ascension to greatness, everything else (including the supporting cast) operates in concert to support that gravitational pull. While we can level with the journey and are often swept up with how amazing it is, the film lessens the people around it because it has specific beats to play.
The Supporting Characters & Conflicts Lack Depth
One of Anthony’s strongest supporters is his mother, Judy (Jennifer Lopez), and the beginning and end of Unstoppable let that shine through the most. Lopez hones into the dramatic performance of a parent who wants the best for her children but is weathering the storm of an unsettled household. Bobby Cannavale comes in as Anthony's at-home adversary and stepfather, Rich. He’s a police officer on a power trip and often looks down upon Anthony’s dreams every chance he gets.
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The film gets into this place where it continually seeks to convey the tension between Rich and Anthony, while Judy's caught in the middle with Anthony’s younger siblings. Within Unstoppable, this conflict and others don't act in connection with the main trajectory. Instead, they try to tug at different emotions and give Judy’s character some motivations too late into the story to realize her arc fully.
Unstoppable Wins the Easy Way
For all that’s missing to flesh out the story, Goldenberg demonstrates a great hand in making the wrestling scenes count alongside cinematographer Salvatore Totino. There’s an exciting, technical energy to them that makes every point matter at the moment. And as far as cinematic sports mentors go, Michael Peña and Don Cheadle do well as prototypical high school and college coaches who give Anthony much-needed advice along the way. Once you get to the big championship match, Unstoppable feels the most comfortable. It knows how to nail the big crowd moment where the odds crumble under the will of the person who wanted more for themselves.
Undoubtedly, that’s going to be the hook for a lot of people, and I can’t blame them if they come out of this film overjoyed this story happened. I did, too! The unfortunate part is that Unstoppable had all the parts in place to make something more unique, given the layers of the story. The predictable route might be a winning formula, but not the pinfall it could have been. From Artists Equity and Nuyorican Productions, Unstoppable will be released on December 6, 2024, from Amazon MGM Studios.
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