Eddie the Eagle Movie Review

Article by Gabe Zia

Lazy Film Critic Movie Reviews

Eddie the Eagle

Eddie the Eagle is a biopic about Michael Edwards, better known as "Eddie the Eagle", the first ski jumper to represent Great Britain in the Olympics. The film is directed by Dexter Fletcher, and was produced by Matthew Vaughn - the guy who made Kingsman, and you can see his fingerprints all over this movie. It stars Taron Egerton and Hugh Jackman as Eddie the Eagle and his coach Bronson Peary.

As with any good biopic, the focus is usually on the acting, and how well these actors play these characters. And while there aren't any performances I'd say will win any awards from this movie, the actors are still pretty good, particularly the two leads. Taron Egerton (despite not looking much like the actual Michael Edwards) is really good in the role, and it's nice to see that he's not tied down into playing Eggsy style characters. Hugh Jackman was also really good, although he didn't bring anything amazing to the role, he could've been played by a number of other actors.

The real hook of Eddie the Eagle is the films style, as it's set in the late 80s. I'm a total 80s geek, and this movie is practically an overload of 80s music and the 80s kind of appeal. This movie perfectly captures a general mood of the 80s that isn't realistic in the same way Dazed and Confused captures the 70s, but is very enjoyable for those who enjoy that sort of thing. It's also worth mentioning that this movie has an outstanding soundtrack, both the score and song selection completes the niche appeal of this movie.

What I love about Eddie the Eagle is a quality I don't see very often, but when I do, it's worth talking about. This movie knows exactly what it is, it's an underdog story, and a fairly simple one at that. The movie is pretty short, considering most biopics are two and a half hours but this movie is a little over 90 minutes long. Its short length is what makes it work, there's no clutter, there's no filler, everything in this movie serves a purpose, and it's simple. It knows it's a cliche, and uses the cliches to the best of it's ability. That's a rare quality, but once again, it's worth talking about whenever it happens.

The Score
I loved this movie, I loved everything about it, and I honestly couldn't get enough. The 80s pop culture reference, style, and music are all perfect, the movie has some strong performances, and it doesn't try to be special. And in doing so, that's what makes it special. I'm sure not everyone may enjoy this movie as much as I did, but just incase, I recommend everyone go see this as soon as possible.