Movie Review--Invictus

I must say, going to the movies is not something I usually do. Something has to really motivate me to want to go and sit in a cold dark theatre to see a movie. I hate going so much, I usually wait til the movie makes it to DVD, and if I'm still interested in it, I get the DVD. Sometimes, I actually watch them after I buy them! You should see my collection of never-been-opened DVDs on my rack.

Today my siblings and I decided to go to a movie. There is a pretty good selection of ones that I would consider paying to see, but we chose the movie "Invictus".

This movie is the story of Nelson Mandella as he took over the presidency of South Africa in the early 1990s, and how he managed to inspire the country to bond together as a homogeneous group, rather than two ethnic cultures who still remained apart. His wisdom was something that guided him to do this, taking steps to see that reverse discrimination didn't take hold, once he was elected as president.

Morgan Freeman made a wonderful Nelson Mandella, and Matt Damon made a great white leader of the rugby team. I had never seen a rugby game before in my life, and it doesn't look like something I'd like to engage in, but it seemed to bring the country of South Africa together after centuries of apharteid. Mandella saw to it that this occurred.

The story is taken from a book, so I'm sure there is some truth to the story. It was predictable and somewhat slow, but interesting, and Freeman/Mandella made it very believable. The final rugby game went on just a mite bit long, with the outcome predictable, but that was OK.

Clint Eastwood directed this movie, and perhaps he was setting the example for our country as our black president struggles to unite our people. That thought struck me as I watched, because Mandella was an outstanding and wise leader. And a silly game of rugby seemed to unite the people of South Africa in a common cause, as they struggled to become #1 in the World Cup Rugby world in 1995.

Very interesting piece of history. I did sort of nap at the beginning until it got interesting and I slept off lunch. But, all in all, it was enjoyable.