cricketbat Invincible is a pretty standard "inspirational sports movie." It has all of the familiar characters, plot lines and dialogue that we have grown accustomed to in movies like this. This is the Western Family version of Rudy. It's not exceptional, just acceptable. Plus, I was surprised to find out how much this movie differs from the actual life of Vince Papale.

raidernation-20472 One of the most touching football movies I've ever watched in my life Mark Wahlberg at his best playing a bartender who gets to try out for the Philadelphia Eagles and by all luck somehow makes the team and fights his way in you will not find the more inspiring movie than this one

jwb001 Lots of problems with this film:* Feels too formulaic. The director just went through the motions to get the film done without putting in extra effort to make it distinctive.* Unnecessarily depressing until the final scene. Depressing dialogue. Worst of all - the color of scenes in South Philadelphia is filtered to produce a depressing brown tint in a misguided attempt to "set the mood".* Weak character development. Vince and the budding romance with Janet are handled well. Johnny, who is Vince's nemesis, feels formulaic again. The bar owner Max and the other neighborhood buddies, whose names I can't even remember - that gives some indication of the weak character development - seem two dimensional at best.The only redeeming aspect of this film is its 1970s rock soundtrack.

Chip Gallo (cgallo) Mark Wahlberg continues to surprise and impress. This ostensibly is a sports film based on a true story, but the excellent cast delivers effective character driven scenes that elevate the proceedings into a watchable relationship drama. I love a good "walk and talk" scene and there are several. The director and editor are not afraid to have a fixed 2-shot during dialog (director Ericson Core is also the Director of Photography), more of a treat today in a world of herky-jerky hand held photography.Period music is blended into a realistic background, especially in the bar scenes which are a backbone to the first half (heh) of the movie. My only quibble might be the casting of Elizabeth Banks as the love interest. The first time we see them in the same frame, well, the outcome is obvious. Ms Banks does a credible job and it is no negative reflection on her that she creates an attractive bar maid.There is an interesting interview with Vince Papale over at DVD Fodder: http://www.filmfodder.com/dvd/archives/2006/12/vince_papale_in.shtml