While the Super Bowl will be chocked full of new movie trailers this weekend, all those will do is give you an impression of whether a movie might be good. Another film has gone in a slightly different direction. They’ve already shown the film to some professional football players, as they are obviously the most trusted people in the world on Super Bowl Sunday, and they’re more than happy to tell you how good the movie actually is. To be fair, it is a sports movie, so they’re not entirely without a good perspective. Get a sneak peek at this Sunday’s spot for Eddie the Eagle right here.
The TV spot includes comments from three great NFL quarterbacks and Super Bowl Champions, Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks, Drew Brees of the New Orleans Saints and retired Saint Louis Rams quarterback Kurt Warner. All three have given the film rave reviews.
But, in all honesty, Eddie the Eagle looks like it’s just going to be one of those movies that’s going to be nearly impossible not to like unless you're a curmudgeon who hates being happy. The movie stars Taron Egerton as Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards, an Englishman who is so focused on becoming an Olympian, while being simultaneously so bad at athletics, that he decides to go after ski jumping because it’s an area where he’ll have less competition to make the team. Hugh Jackman stars as the coach who decides to take a chance on the man and train him. Both the actors in the movie are great and the story is inspiring as all hell. Jackman made giant robots punching each other an inspiring story. He can probably handle this. Whether or not the movie is "good" is almost an afterthought. It will almost certainly be inspiring and emotional, and really that’s the point.
Drew Brees says that the movie will appeal to fans of Hoosiers, Rudy, and Remember the Titans. All of those films were inspired, to one degree or another, by true stories, and Eddie the Eagle is no different. In the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, "The Eagle" did compete. I won’t spoil the results if you’re not familiar with the event.
Does the endorsement of NFL players make you more likely to go see Eddie the Eagle when it comes out on February 26? Let us know in the comments below.
