When watching Clint Eastwood’s latest masterpiece, the first thing that you notice is the ordinary great-man tale that is so common in Hollywood’s storylines; the next thing you see is the amazingly intricate context of the story.

Invictus is a movie that hits just the right spots and pleases a variety of audiences; on the one hand, it is a sports-flick that sports buffs will enjoy, while on the other hand, it tells a part of Nelson Mandela’s legacy of peace and unity in South Africa.

    The story follows an underdog rugby team, the Springboks. The 1995 Rugby World Cup is coming up and it’s to be hosted by South Africa, which is slowly recovering from internal political war and doesn’t stand much of a chance to win. It’s also the first year that Nelson Mandela, who was a political prisoner for 27 years, serves as South Africa’s president.

    Of course, the racial complications between the white and black people of this nation lead to a great controversy over Mandela’s competence as president; the white people who once had control of the nation politically expect him to want revenge for the repercussions of the apartheid, while the black people expect him to do just that.

    However, Mandela stands strong and chooses forgiveness and unification over revenge; vengeance is a petty thing. Here we see a strong performance from Morgan Freeman, who is the obvious choice for Mandela’s character, as the original man once stated himself the only person he could imagine acting as himself would be Freeman. Freeman manages to embody perfectly Mandela’s peaceful ways, commanding demeanor, clever wit, and the kind sorrow in his eyes.

    As the movie progresses, we are introduced to Mandela’s many problems, one of which being the Springboks; they are unsuccessful and a majority of the black people in the nation are violently against the rugby team as to them the all-white team, minus one player, is a symbol of past racism. Instead of focusing on “more important issues,” Mandela decides to use rugby to rally all the people of the nation, regardless of background.

    He meets with the captain of the Springboks, Francois Pienaar, to encourage him to win for not the sake of winning, but rather the country’s peace. Casting strikes gold again with Matt Damon; he portrays the troubled player with ease. Pienaar is moved by Mandela’s attitude and we watch as the team runs head on towards the World Cup, following the words of Mandela’s favorite poem Invictus, “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”

   Although the film fails in that it lacks explanation of rugby, the average audience member is typically able to follow the gist of the sport, as it is very similar to  American football  However, the climax at the World Cup is a bit drawn out and exhausting. The length of the rugby match, in addition to the fact that the audience is able to guess the result easily, makes the film’s ending seems a bit anti-climatic.

    In conclusion, this movie is a small chapter of Mandela’s life portrayed visually with a fantastic plot , and with two stellar performances from talented, Oscar-deserving actors. An overall great endeavor, with great ideas, a sort of a crash between sports and politics, Invictus is something everyone should see. It manages to make a fresh a life that has been overplayed (badly) in past movies. Go into this movie with great expectations and come out with even more. Invictus is truly one of the top movies of 2009.

Rating: A