I can see why Clint Eastwood wanted to make this movie. It's the story of South Africa, a nation in the midst of a major class war and civil unrest, that comes together to cheer for their national rugby team, the Springboks. However with all the historical elements this film just doesn't give you the same feeling that "Rocky" or even "Rudy" does. It just seems a little bit off of its mark.
Matt Damon is great as Francois Pienaar, the captain of the South African team and the rugby scenes are well done, but the problem here really is Morgan Freeman. I don't know if Eastwood has an arrangement to place him in most of his films, but he falls short in his portrayal of Mandella. First of all he's the right height, Mandella was very tall, but he's just didn't carry the right demeanor. He says all the right things but it just didn't seem believable enough.
In addition, the story didn't develop enough to show how much Mandella had affected the rugby team and especially the captain. We don't understand why there was a change in Pienaar. It's an okay movie but it had so much potential. Sorry Clint, but wait for this one to show up on Starz.
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