I Watched Unstoppable, And Anthony Robles’ Inspiring Story Is Just One Reason To Check It Out

I love a good sports drama, and while there are surely some great options coming up on the 2025 movie calendar, one in particular from last year caught my eye recently when I was perusing the offerings of my Prime Video subscription. Unstoppable is the story of Anthony Robles, who was born with one leg and overcame a number of obstacles — physical, financial and otherwise — to win an NCAA Division I wrestling championship. This movie left me so inspired by what Robles was able to accomplish, not just as an athlete but a man with the cards stacked against him.

The thing is, I didn’t hear much about Unstoppable before it hit streaming, and what I did know about the movie was in reference to how Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck would navigate the movie’s premiere amid their divorce. JLo stars as Anthony Robles’ mom Judy, while Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity produced the film. I’m here to say this movie is more important than what happened when Lopez and Damon ran into each other at a film festival. Robles’ story deserves to be told, and while that’s the biggest reason I recommend this movie, it’s not the only one.

I Knew Anthony Robles Was Going To Be Impressive, But I Was Absolutely Blown Away By What He Was Capable Of

Going into Unstoppable, it was no secret that we were about to see some incredible physical accomplishments from Anthony Robles — played in the movie by Emmy Award winner Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us). However, that was far from the only thing standing in Anthony’s path. A large family, an abusive stepfather and the looming threat of eviction meant that the wrestler had to fight to even get to college — and it didn’t help that no viable programs were willing to take a chance on him for an athletic scholarship.

The process of Anthony walking onto the Arizona State wrestling team was the best part of the movie for me. The drive that he had — played by Jerome without an ounce of self-pity — was unbelievable, and several times I found myself thinking, “No way they’ll make him run bleachers. No way they’ll make him do a relay race while carrying a weight. No way they’ll make him climb a mountain on crutches.”

Not only did he do all those things (see the photo above), it was never a question whether he was going to. His coaches didn’t give him an out, and Anthony didn’t ask for one. His undeniable skill and relentless hard work earned him the respect of his teammates — who, according to the movie, fought for his place on the team when budget cuts threatened the wrestling program — as well as his coach Shawn Charles (Don Cheadle).

Unstoppable Features An Amazing Cast, Including Jennifer Lopez and Don Cheadle

Another reason I was surprised I hadn’t heard more about Unstoppable was because of its cast. Jharrel Jerome, known for his roles in Moonlight, Mr. Mercedes and the aforementioned When They See Us, gives us a hero to root for. Despite having a two-legged actor playing Anthony (a green legging was used during filming, with Jerome’s right leg being edited out in post-production, and Robles actually acted as Jerome’s stunt and body double), I never once questioned the actor’s portrayal of an athlete with one leg.

Then there’s Jennifer Lopez, who showed Judy Robles’ own unstoppable spirit in championing her son. I’d hate to have been any of the people in the crowd making jokes about the wrestler's leg in front of her or any of the opponents who had the gall to argue Anthony had an unfair advantage because it was easier for him to make weight.

It wasn't just her unwavering love and support, though. We also saw Judy escape her abusive marriage, find a way to keep the roof over her children’s heads and ultimately pursue her own education. It’s not hard to see where Anthony Robles got his can-do attitude from.

Other highlights are, of course, Don Cheadle as the Arizona State wrestling coach, Bobby Cannavale as Judy’s husband and Michael Peña as Anthony’s high school wrestling coach Bobby Williams. Cheadle is so inspirational and charismatic, I’d probably follow him into war. Speaking of charisma, Cannavale oozed it out of every pore... until his face would go dark at the flip of a switch, signaling trouble for — at the very least — Judy.

Unstoppable Provides Everything You Want In A Sports Drama

Unstoppable doesn’t break the mold when it comes to biographical sports dramas, but it doesn’t really need to. There’s a reason we love a great inspirational movie. We love to see the underdog come out on top (though I hesitate to even call the athlete an underdog, because he never once made me question whether he was talented enough or deserving enough to get everything he worked so hard for).

Jerome really drives Anthony’s motivation home in a moving speech to Bobby Williams, where he lays out exactly why winning the NCAA wrestling championship is so important to him. He has no delusions of a post-college wrestling career. He says he knows the first thing people notice about him is the thing that is missing. Going into his senior season, he’s worked so hard for his one chance to change people’s perspective of him, and even if you know (or can guess) how his story ends, I guarantee you’ll be better for having watched it play out.

Critics and viewers agree that Unstoppable is a movie not to miss, with a Certified Fresh 77% on Rotten Tomatoes’ Tomatometer and 87% on the audience’s Popcornmeter. It’s a fairly by-the-book sports drama with a great cast, but the main reason I think this is one of Amazon Prime Video’s best movies is because this real sports star deserves to be known and to be known for his character, drive and talent.

As the characters joke a couple of times in the movie, you might even find yourself forgetting Anthony Robles only has one leg, and I have to imagine that’s exactly what he wants. Unstoppable is available to stream now on Amazon Prime Video.