Invictus (2009)
Average Rating: 6.6/10
Reviews Counted: 230
Fresh: 174 | Rotten: 56
Delivered with typically stately precision from director Clint Eastwood, Invictus may not be rousing enough for some viewers, but Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman inhabit their real-life characters with admirable conviction.
Average Rating: 6.9/10
Critic Reviews: 43
Fresh: 37 | Rotten: 6
Delivered with typically stately precision from director Clint Eastwood, Invictus may not be rousing enough for some viewers, but Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman inhabit their real-life characters with admirable conviction.
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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 206,910
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Movie Info
Actor Morgan Freeman portrays anti-apartheid activist and former South African president Nelson Mandela in this Clint Eastwood-helmed political drama adapted from author John Carlin's book The Human Factor: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed the World. Set just after the fall of apartheid and during Mandela's first term in office, The Human Factor explores how the political prisoner-turned-president used the 1995 Rugby World Cup -- which was hosted by South Africa -- as a means of bringing
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Cast
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Morgan Freeman
Nelson Mandela -
Matt Damon
Francois Pienaar -
Tony Kgoroge
Jason Tshabalala -
Patrick Mofokeng
Linga Moonsamy -
Matt Stern
Hendrick Booyens -
Julian Lewis Jones
Etienne Feyder -
Adjoa Andoh
Brenda Mazibuko -
Marguerite Wheatley
Nerine -
Leleti Khumalo
Mary -
Patrick Lyster
Mr. Pienaar -
Penny Downie
Mrs. Pienaar -
Sibongile Nojila
Eunice -
Bonnie Henna
Zindzi -
Shakes Myeko
Minister of Sport -
Louis Minaar
Springbok Coach -
Danny Keogh
Rugby President -
Dan Robbertse
Boer -
Robin Smith
Johan De Villiers -
David Dukas
Captain of 747 -
Grant Brett Swanby
Co-Captain of 747 -
Josias Moleele
Face Painter -
Melusi Yeni
Presidential Guard -
Robert Hobbs
Presidential Guard -
Langley Kirkwood
Presidential Guard -
Daniel Hadebe
Presidential Guard -
Vuyo Dabula
Presidential Guard -
Jodi Botha
High School Boy -
Hennie Bosman
High School Coach -
Refiloe Mpakanyane
Jessie -
Murray Todd
Johannesburg Cop -
Jakkie Groenewald
Johannesburg Cop -
Japan Mthembu
Local Cop -
Albert Maritz
Springbok Manager -
Sello Motloung
Mandela's Doctor -
Meren Reddy
Minister of the Environ... -
Lida Botha
Mrs. Brits -
Susan Danford
Mrs. Cole -
Sylvia Mngxekeza
Mrs. Dlamini -
James Lithgow
New Zealand PM -
Malusi Skenjana
NSC Firebrand -
Bart Fouche
Prison Guard -
Johnny Cicco
Staff Member -
Wayne Harrison
Staff Member -
Ashley Taylor
Team Crew -
Gift Loetlela
Team Crew -
Kgosi Mongake
Sipho -
Given Stuurman
Township Kid -
Vuyolwethu Stevens
Township Kid -
Ayabulela Stevens
Township Kid -
Nambitha Mpumlwana
Trophy Wife -
Andre Jacobs
TV Announcer -
JR Redlinghaus
Helicopter Pilot -
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Invictus Trailer & Photos
All Critics (231) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (176) | Rotten (58) | DVD (12)
A noble and compassionate work that in its later scenes manages successfully to invest our emotions in the triumph of an important - if overlong! - sporting victory.
Top CriticWhat Eastwood has done is to assemble a cast of American and South African actors and allow them to create something moving, exciting, and improbably true.
Freeman-as-Mandela is an actor all dressed up with no place to go -- at least, nowhere we didn't already know he was headed.
The story of how Nelson Mandela chose the white-supported national rugby team, the Springboks, to become a symbol of national reconciliation is uncharacteristically optimistic for Eastwood.
[T]he epitome of Hollywood filmmaking in ways both good and bad: uplifting, overlong, ambitious in scope but simple in moral vision, well-crafted but inured to irony.
A work of flawed majesty.
Invictus tells the tale in the standard Hollywood way
Is it schmaltzy? A little. Is it good anyway? Yes. It's not trying to reinvent the wheel but it understands what it is and that the best place to put its focus is not the rugby field.
Invictus hits all the right formula notes of both the biopic and the underdog sports movie, making it impossible to hate. He also hits those notes so insistently and with such a lack of grace that he makes it a difficult movie to like.
A narrative divide that never quite comes together, despite some truly uplifting moments. And seems unable to decide whether it wants to be a sports movie or a political biopic. Invictus: Or rather, 'I am the rugby captain of Mandela's soul.'
A narrative divide that never quite comes together, despite some truly uplifting moments. And seems unable to decide whether it wants to be a sports movie or a political biopic. Invictus: Or rather, 'I am the rugby captain of Mandela's soul.'
Despite hewing fairly closely to the facts, has trouble seeming truthful. Practically everyone behaves like an allegorical symbol rather than a person, a problem the script anticipates and acknowledges but only feebly attempts to solve. [Blu-ray]
... less a film than a memorial: handsome, stately, well-meaning and dramatically inert.
Eastwood's dull Invictus receives a lackluster welcome to home video.
At its very essence a classically Hollywood, ultra-populist, inspirational underdog sports movie--and a well executed one at that.
This amalgamation of inspirational themes cuts a new notch on Eastwood's well-used viewfinder.
...a fitting tribute to a great man and a fine inspirational sports movie, too. (Blu-ray Edition)
...a polished, well-made, and unaffectedly inspiring motion picture about an inspiring individual and an inspiring victory.
Not one of Eastwood's best, but at times the story is quite moving. And, you can't help but cherish the performance by Morgan Freeman as Nelson Mandela. Nicely done, Morgan. Paul Chambers, CNN.
Freeman's Mandela is deeply flawed, single-minded when it comes to his job, and has a way with one-liners. In short, he's an Eastwood hero.
Audience Reviews for Invictus
Super Reviewer
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- Nelson Mandela: Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.
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- Nelson Mandela: You criticize without understanding. You seek only to address your own personal feelings. That is selfish thinking.
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- Nelson Mandela: Times change, we need to change as well.
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- Nelson Mandela: Forgiveness liberates the soul. It removes fear. That is why it is such a powerful weapon.
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- Francois Pienaar: I think he wants us to win the World Cup.
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- Nelson Mandela: The day I am afraid to do that is the day I am no longer fit to lead.
Discussion Forum
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Latest News on Invictus
May 18, 2010:
RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Invictus and The MessengerThis week on home video, we've got a couple of big new releases and a few smaller ones. Three of...
December 10, 2009:
Critics Consensus: Princess, Invictus Are Certified FreshThis week at the movies, we've got a Southern-fried fairy tale (The Princess and the Frog, with...
December 7, 2009:
The Great Directors: Clint Eastwood Will Make Your Day!As a star, Clint Eastwood is one of cinema's most iconic tough guys. However, it's arguably as a...
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Foreign Titles
- Invictus - Unbezwungen (DE)
After his brilliant Changeling, it is quite shocking to see how lazily this film is paced and put together. There are almost none of the familiar Eastwood-touches here and Invictus reminds me more like a work of an amateur than a veteran-director.
Sluggish pacing of the film is not nearly the only problem here. The whole concept of this film is awkwardly cliched and it ends up being just like twenty other big Hollywood sports-films we have seen before. And what in the world has made Eastwood use that embarrassing slow-motion so much. It felt like the last 30-minutes of this film is just corny slow-motion with bombastic sound-effects and annoying hero-music. But if that wasn't bad enough then just wait for the final "why can't we all get along" images hit the screen.
Certainly Eastwood's intentions are good but the presentation here sucks big time. Invictus is unfortunately one of Eastwood's worst films to date.