Unstoppable is about Anthony Robles, a professional wrestler born with one leg who strives through seemingly insurmountable obstacles to achieve triumph. Robles is born to a single mother and an abusive stepfather, and despite the odds against him, he triumphs and becomes the star of a feel-good movie from Hollywood that resonates with audiences. One does not have to be a fan of the sport again, the competitive sport and not the scripted entertainment known as the WWE to appreciate the feature as it gets you to feel for the characters. The genuine writing is not behind this as much as it is about the performances with Jharrel Jerome selling the role of Robles and Jennifer Lopez playing his distressed mother Judy. It is more a wrestling family drama, which is child’s play compared to The Iron Claw, as Unstoppable employs standard tropes such as ‘rags to riches’ to tell its story. The cast and production accomplish it so well that one cannot assist but become engaged in its emotional impact.
After Air, another brand biopic about the creation of Nike Air Jordans, there is another sports-related production from Artists Equity, the production company of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. Talking about Robles, the real-life Anthony Robles, who is now a motivational speaker, has acted as a producer in this film too.
As highlighted, his life story is of an underdog athlete who makes it against all odds, a story that the producers haven’t shied away from recreating in the world of sports cinema’s dream portrayals. Derived from the combined book of Robles and Austin close parentheses Murphy called Unstoppable From Underdog to Undefeated How I Became a Champion, the screenplay written by Eric Campanella, Alex Harris, and John Hindman has a similar touch to that of the movie “Rocky” (1976). This story has stood the test of time as the hallmark in the production of sports films. Director William Goldenberg his first feature debut after spending decades editing and working with industry bigwigs like Affleck and Michael Mann depicts Robles as he stood up while in bed, next to a poster of Rocky. And time and again, Robles makes a pilgrimage to what is known as the ‘Rocky Steps’ in Philadelphia.
Taking into consideration these allusions, it is therefore understandable that Robles’ story is emotionally and motivationally uplifting as intended. And even if you are new to his struggle and how vastly wrestling takes him, it still does not matter. In the generic sports film underdog narrative structure, and we on top of it are viewing a biopic on him, it is highly recommended for Robles to prevail somehow. Perhaps he finds redemption in losing, as Rocky did, and ends up in defeat in the first film. Or he can become a champion, like the one in the poster which shows his winning pose. Yes, even when the outcome of Unstoppable is highly predictable, almost to the extent that you can script it, a decent finale can sometimes give life to all these overused concepts. Here, Goldenberg manages to achieve mostly, but not without ending the audience with a feeling of how the material has been ‘over emotionalized’.
Possessing a quiet determination and nobility, as played by Jerome, Robles harbors the hope of ending up at Iowa State, the best wrestling university. But living in Arizona without sufficient finances and with only one leg, which college wrestling teams do not view favorably, the chances look rather bleak. Back at home, Robles’ abusive step-father spearhead Rich (Bobby Cannavale) is a threat to his many young siblings which makes him unable to accept the offer to attend college for free and remain at home to protect them and his mother. Thankfully, he has the unshakable faith of his high school wrestling coach (Michael Peña) who seems to have no life other than pursuing Robles’ career after high school. Once he is part of the Arizona State University wrestling team, he receives motivation from his college coach (Don Cheadle) who, like many others, overlooks Robles but later realizes his true potential. A subplot in which Judy deals with a predatory mortgage lender fits right in progress in this classic David and Goliath narrative.
Salvatore Totino (the cinematographer) and Brett Totino (the Editor) are absolutely terrific in getting the audience interested in matches even when the audience is unable to grasp the action in the ring or understand why in the ringside everyone is screaming, “Two” which author indicates is thanks to the uncomplicated and utterly bland visual treatment save for a couple of under the mat shots. What such concerns are the shots of the arena and Robles’ attentiveness to the sightlines as they heighten the engaging nature of the character. Areas like Lope’s father’s portrayal further extend the view as a fierce mother who is willing to control all men who do not understand why her boy is fighting. Cannavale’s strong outer character gives Robles the push to have internal conflict and the resolution of all the conflict is towards the end of the film in a thrilling fight scene. There is also Matt McDonough (of Jonni DiJulius) whose record remains unblemished and the head coach of McDonough is a “second place is the first loser” kind of guy.
Accompanied by the scene of the NCAA individual wrestling, robles’ path is predicted by quite dramatic music, though completely anonymous, made by Alexandre Desplat. Such moments passionate the actors, In particular Jharrel Jerome, in the role of One. This guy who played in Moonlight (2016) turned out to be genuinely one of the rising stars in 2019 when he appeared in When They See Us. Such a transformation is accompanied by an intelligent visual that, as intended, he doesn’t have a leg.
At first glance, Robles’s “I’m running out of time to be someone” speech may seem contrived, but Jerome makes it work. Such is how much of Unstoppable operated on me. My heart was definitely being jerked but I felt powerless to resist it This might appeal to some, and they might go along with Robles, even after seeing how the obvious methods are employed in the story Robles created. Some will see the fusion of those familiar elements in the classic Rocky story yet again. But this critic cannot say he was not impressed. I was not comfortable after sitting in my seat. Nonetheless, respect for the game Unstoppable is very much withheld.
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