Film of the Week: Eddie the Eagle

If ever you want to watch a movie that inspires you and you’ve watched Cool Runnings about a million times, then this is the film for you. Eddie the Eagle warmed the world when he competed in the Winter Olympics 1988. It must be noted that the two films actually share the same Olympics. Both featured people training for the 1988 Winter games.

Eddie’s story is incredibly inspirational and proves that if you truly believe in yourself and love what you do, then you can do anything you want. The feel-good nature of the story makes its impact from the very beginning and doesn’t let up one bit until the credits roll, but even then you’re left with a smile on your face having the knowledge that all was well in the end.

Even though you know that all does become good at the end, you’re still sitting on the edge of your seat, hoping that he overcomes his fears, and proves other people wrong. Throughout the film, people believed that he was wasting his time and give up. They tried to do whatever they can to try and convince him not to do what he really wants to do, but they fail to put even a dent into his determination. He never gave up, even in the most difficult of times. He got knocked down an almost uncountable amount of times, but he always got back up and continued fighting for what he loves – being an Olympian. That’s his dream. That’s all he wanted to achieve. And he achieved it. He overcame all obstacles and won the world’s hearts and becoming a national hero in England.

It has been stated by Eddie himself that most of the film has been made up, but whilst deviating slightly from the facts slightly, the core elements that made up his journey towards the 1988 Olympics remained. Hugh Jackman’s character is completely made up for the film, but his inclusion didn’t ruin the experience of watching this incredibly strong person go from the bottom to the very top.

He came last in both the 70M and the 90M jumps, but he simply didn’t care because he had achieved his dream. He had become an Olympian, and to top it all, he had successfully beaten Britain’s record of Ski-jumping, which he was over the moon with happiness about. The fact that he had achieved his dream plus more was all that mattered to him. He wasn’t bound by any pressure to come out on top, he was only there to have fun, and that’s what he did and that’s why the world love Eddie and continue to do so to this day.

After the film had finished, I thought to myself, ‘this is the new Cool Runnings’, but then I thought, that shouldn’t really be a classification. Cool Runnings is an amazing film about determination and never given up even in the face of defeat. Everyone has seen it at least once. It has set the bar incredibly high in terms of feel-good, family-friendly, inspirational movies, and no film of its type has ever come close to being on par of beating it. I am confident in saying that Eddie the Eagle has successfully joined Cool Runnings on the podium. It’s hard to distinguish between the two because, even though they have the same core elements, they are at the end of the day, quite different films, and so they are in a league of their own. Eddie the Eagle isn’t the new Cool Runnings, it’s Eddie the Eagle. Now, any film that comes after it has two films to compete against.

I’ve talked so much about the message that’s woven throughout the film, that I haven’t talked about the film itself. Taron Egerton portrays Eddie and Hugh Jackman plays Bronson Peary, who helps Eddie train for the Olympics. Both are exceptional throughout.

I do highly recommend this film to anyone. If you want to watch something that’s feel-good, then this is the film for you. If you want to watch this to feel inspired, then this is the film for you. If you want to watch this without any prior reason, then this is the film for you. If all you’re into are the thrillers, or horrors, or love stories, then give this film a chance because I’m sure you will be surprised.

Thanks for reading

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)