'Unstoppable' Review: A Remarkable Story Gets The Familiar Sports Biopic Treatment With Jharrel Jerome & Jennifer Lopez [TIFF]

Sports biopics are only as good as their subjects, and “Unstoppable” has a doozy—Anthony Robles, who, despite being born with one leg, went on to win the 2011 NCAA national wrestling championship as a senior at Arizona State University in the 125-pound weight class. It is a remarkable story and now receives an extremely traditional, by-the-numbers big-screen movie treatment in “Unstoppable” that nevertheless boasts existing scenes of wrestling and a bevy of committed stars around lead Jharrel Jerome. Academy Award-winning editor William Goldenberg of “Argo” fame, among others, makes his directorial debut.

“Unstoppable” gives us the whole experience from Anthony graduating high school to his victory at the NCAA championship in his senior year. The film begins with Anthony selecting the dream school for himself, Iowa, but is passed over. He has a couple of full-ride scholarships and offers from other universities but finally settles on Arinoza state. All the traditional beats in a sports drama are hit—workout scenes, training, locker room sequences, pep talks by the coach, scenes of adversity alternating with scenes of triumphs, and finally, the thrilling wrestling matches.

Even for “Unstoppable,” this structure would have been almost too predictable and standard, so it braids a second narrative strand around the sports drama—not the least to incorporate the presence of megastar Jennifer Lopez. Lopes plays Anthony’s mother, Judy, and the Robles’ family life, which is explored at length, including the volatile relationship between Judy and partner Rich (Bobby Cannavale), Anthony’s stepdad. There are scenes of domestic violence and emotional abuse; Rich walks out and then comes back, and they are nearly evicted from their house, only for Judy to save the day at the last minute. All these sections are expanded beyond their usual place in a sports drama to accommodate Lopez, who otherwise wouldn’t have signed on for a generic ‘supportive mother’ role.

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The sports aspect is generally well-handled, with the matches entertaining and exciting despite their apparent outcomes. “Unstoppable” has found a way to make wrestling a very coherent sport for even those who don’t follow it. It is perfectly clear at each moment what each wrestler is trying to do and the strategy being deployed to win the match. That is just as well because everything around the matches is utterly conventional, and the performances are very broad. Seeing a figure like Robles triumphing despite disability is nonetheless inspiring in itself.

Jerome, who broke out with “Moonlight,” is quite good in a physically demanding role. We can only imagine the considerable trickery it took to hide one of his legs, but the effect is seamlessly achieved. There isn’t much to the performance besides determination and spirit, but what he brings to the part is adequate. Lopez is unquestionably a watchable and charismatic star, whatever the circumstances, and does commit to the role, even though it is unchallenging. Per usual with Lopez, she is glammed up regardless of the scene and always looks like a million bucks. It seems playing a mother is about as far as she would go regarding being unsparing in art. Cannavale is cartoonishly moustache-twirling evil but has presence. Michael Peña and Don Cheadle are classy and graceful per usual, though they don’t have much to do besides being coaches and father figures to Robles and ladling out dollops of homilies and wisdom.

“Unstoppable” is perhaps too given to mainstream impulses to be interesting. It might also hold the film back from theatrical success, as these days, a sprinkle of spice is necessary to convince audiences that the film should be seen on the big screen rather than on streaming. As an undemanding human interest story, “Unstoppable” delivers the goods. The film will interest school and college athletes and their families as “Unstoppable” ably captures that experience. Black audiences will also appreciate a pioneering African-American hero getting his due. [C+]

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