How the hell did I get lumbered with this b*stard?

This film had been released some time ago and actually, I was fortunate enough to see it at a pre-release screening a few hours after watching Batman Vs. Superman. I was in a relatively meh mood after the night before, my mind just turning over with what I just saw.

So in essence, it may have been the wrong time to go watch a film which once again was based on a true story. Except Hugh Jackman’s character in this didn’t exist in the real story, just like Leonardo Dicaprio’s son didn’t exist in the true story of the Revenant.

Eddie the Eagle is the film “based on the true story” of Eddie Edwards, someone who was wanted to do something more than just be in the same trade as his dad, and ended up against all odds competing in the Winter Olympics. It should have been one of those family films which would happily fill in some time while we waited for the summer blockbusters to blow everything up and it’s rather odd to say this, but I enjoyed this more than the Revenant. I even enjoyed this more than Batman Vs Superman.

It also made a lot more sense than Batman Vs Superman, with a clear beginning, the middle (complete with character growth and a funny training montage) and an ending which allowed me to leave the cinema with a smile on my face. So in terms of just being entertaining, a film with a £23 million pound budget did a hell of a lot better than the $250 million + behemoth produced by Warner Bros.

Don’t worry kid, you will never be as bad as that guy who played Lex Luthor….

Mind you, that doesn’t mean it uses every trick in the book to basically imitate the Disney FIlm Cool Runnings, complete with run out of the sport for some reason trainer, played to good comic effect by Hugh Jackman. Hell, the film 2/3rds of the way through even references the Jamaican bobsled team as a joke! But nethertheless, Taron Egerton plays the title character rather well, and you can’t help but just be on his side and in the end, our fearless underdog just comes away from it all as a hero regardless of whatever else happens.

The story is fairly simple and delivers pretty much what you expect to see in terms of showing how bad Eddie is at pretty much everything, being awkward etc. But it’s also rather heartwarming in respects to see how little Eddie actually cares and just keeps going. It’s actually rather interesting to see what happens in essence when certain people at the British Olympic division realise that due to a lapse in not keeping rules up to date, Eddie actually makes it into the Olympic team, only to be denied again by yet another obstacle. It’s rather hard to not want to get behind him and cheer him onto the end, even if you already know what happens.

A few extra points worth noting and keeping an eye for, is the rather naughty german landlady Eddie tries to not get molested by, Keith Allen as Eddie’s dad and also the point where Hugh Jackman equates something to having an orgasm, complete with facial expression guaranteed to make ladies weak at the knees. In fact, it’s worth watching for Hugh Jackman alone given his presence in every scene, (especially when drunk). Overall it’s a tidy little package which will make you laugh and smile. This actually is worth catching when it comes to the various streaming services or shiny disc. Certainly much more than Batman Vs Superman.