I read a review of this one that called it something along the lines of “a great rugby movie, an ok Nelson Mandela biopic”. I would be hard pressed to think of many things more backwards. The rugby is pretty good. Entertaining, exciting, etc. That being said, this movie is NOT about rugby. Rugby is the backdrop; it would be like saying that Grey’s Anatomy is about medicine. This movie is about Mandela, and the end of apartheid in South Africa. This is a true cinematic achievement in that the right actor was alive at the right time to play the right person. It’s a very happy coincidence, for I fear that this movie would never work in another time, place, or with another person.

That being said, the movie is pretty good. Not excellent, but pretty good. The acting is tremendous. Morgan Freeman is tremendous. Matt Damon is pretty good. He holds his own against Freeman, but I would say barely so. Unfortunately, I can think of an actor better suited to play the role, and even more unfortunately, that actor is dead. Everything in Damon’s performance screams Heath Ledger. His accent, his walk, his demeanor. Everything. It is almost as if Clint Eastwood said “act just like Heath Ledger would have”. To his credit, he does. I like Matt Damon a lot, and he certainly seems to be channeling Ledger quite well, but I hate knowing that he would likely not have been cast a few years ago. But alas, as I said, this movie might not have worked a few years ago, leaving us in a bizarre quandary.

This is definitely not my favorite Clint Eastwood movie (that would be Gran Torino). It is about as good as Million Dollar Baby. In 2004, this movie would have trounced every other at the Academy Awards (meaning people would have rioted if Crash had pulled off an upset). This year, not so much. The competition’s too good, and this movie is too… ok. If you like Clint Eastwood, you’ll like it. Hell, you’ll probably all like it. But don’t be too surprised if it goes a bit quietly into the good night.

One-line review: Entertaining and endearing, and an enjoyable viewing.

Consensus: 75/100