When the coach of Vince Papale's beloved hometown football team hosted an unprecedented open tryout, the public consensus was that it was a waste of time--no one good enough to play professional football was going to be found this way. Certainly no one like Papale--a down-on-his-luck, 30 year-old, substitute teacher and part-time bartender who never even played college football. But against these odds, Papale made the team and soon found himself living every fan's fantasy--moving from his cheap seats in the upper deck to standing on the field as a professional football player.

I have to admit that when watching some movies its quite hard to be impartial. I am a die-hard football fan and most movies about the gridiron unless utterly and completely stink fests are normally liked by me. There haven’t been many football films I didn’t like in some way or another and forgive a lot of their faults, which a lot of them have. So before seeing Invincible I was already half way there to liking the film because it depicted one of my more favorite past times. As far as the football goes in the movie, they do a fantastic job of giving a glimpse into the life of what it might be like to be a pro football player. It isn’t all fun and games and in fact more often than not can be grueling and more players leave the league due to injury than to simply retiring and deciding to give it up. In fact Vince Papale’s career ended in 1979 due to a shoulder injury he obtained playing the grueling sport. I love movies that show accuracy in what playing football is like and don’t just gloss over it for the housewives out there, and that’s what this movie is at times, a fan’s movie that can still entertain most people with its underdog story.

The second reason I was poised to like this movie before even seeing it, is the simple truth that most people like and will cheer for an underdog. And in 1976 Vince Papale a 30-year-old bartender with only one year of high school ball under his belt was the ultimate underdog. He was the real life Rocky Balboa and instead of getting in for one play he got in for three seasons and 41 games. So the movie has a lot going for it, it has my favorite past time and sport as well as my love for the underdog and I know that its probably not totally fair for me to say so but I loved the movie and I am sure that most football fans or fans of the underdog will love the movie as well. It is fun, it is entertaining and it’s hard not to root for.

The only thing that kind of ruined it for me, is knowing a little of Vince Papale’s background and seeing Disney gloss over it with their fine tune comb. They fail to mention that Papale played for two years for the World Football League prior to his stint with the NFL, so it wasn’t like he only had some backyard football under his belt like the movie makes it seem. Nor do they mention that in 1976 the Eagles failed to make the playoffs nor did they make it at any time during Papale’s short three-year career, instead letting you know Vermeil took the Eagles to the Super Bowl in his fifth year as their coach. Nor do they mention that in Papale's 41 games he caught only 1 pass for 15 yards in 1977. They do show one of his more glorious moments one of the 2 forced fumbles that he caused in 3 years of playing special teams. Special teams in football are needed and one of the toughest assignments in football but the movie tried to make you think Papale’s career was a pro bowl kind of love affair. I don’t fault them for doing so but by doing so they lead to all the clichés, everything wasn’t rosy but what Papale did was still amazing just not as much as the movie would like you to believe so.

I like Mark Wahlberg in this kind of role, it’s the third time he has kind of played this role and it kind of fits him. First in Boogie Nights as the reluctant porn star cast into stardom, to the Rock Star as the reluctant rocker who finds glory and stardom and finishing off with Invincible as the reluctant bar tender who find football glory and stardom. He is a fairly good actor and he makes you believe in him, which the movie needed to work. Greg Kinnear also does a fine job as the young Dick Vermeil as you can see the strain being the coach of the eagles, in the toughest football city in the NFL. The movie is fun, it is entertaining and it will please most football fans out there.

Grade: B