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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

Invictus

EMAILPRINTWarner Bros. Pictures

Invictus reviews
74
7.0 User Score:

Generally favorable reviews

Based on 34 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 74 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Anthony Peckham
John Carlin (book)

Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Release Date:
Theatrical: December 11, 2009
DVD: May 18, 2010

Running Time: 134 minutes, Color

Origin: USA

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for brief strong language

Starring Morgan Freeman, and Matt Damon

Newly elected President Mandela knows his nation remains racially and economically divided in the wake of apartheid. Believing he can bring his people together through the universal language of sport, Mandela rallies South Africa's underdog rugby team as they make an unlikely run to the 1995 World Cup Championship match. (Warner Bros.)

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

The New York Times A.O. Scott

It’s an exciting sports movie, an inspiring tale of prejudice overcome and, above all, a fascinating study of political leadership.

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88

USA Today Claudia Puig

Invictus, which is Latin for "unconquered," gives the poem several meanings in the context of the film. It also applies to Eastwood, who, as one of America's greatest storytellers, finds enthralling tales and fashions them with finesse and an indomitable spirit.

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88

New York Post Lou Lumenick

This movie depicts an unlikely intersection of sports and leadership in ways that manage to be inspiring and insightful without ever becoming schmaltzy or preachy.

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88

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

Clint Eastwood, a master director, orchestrates all of these notes and has us loving Mandela, proud of Francois and cheering for the plucky Springboks. A great entertainment. Not, as I said, the Mandela biopic I would have expected.

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88

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Joe Williams

What makes it special is Eastwood's ability to artfully and concisely tell a story, and Morgan Freeman's wonderfully understated turn as South African President Nelson Mandela.

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88

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

Eastwood's modest approach to these momentous events shames the usual Hollywood showboating. In a rare achievement, he's made a film that truly is good for the soul.

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83

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

How is Invictus as a sports movie? Let's just say that its lump-in-the-throat climax is predictable, but that doesn't mean it's less than earned.

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80

Time Richard Corliss

Damon, beefed up for the occasion, makes Pienaar a stalwart yet courtly figure. Freeman infuses Mandela's speeches with the same gentleness and gravity he's brought to his numerous God roles and the Visa Olympics commercials. But the real deity here is Eastwood, still chugging away handsomely in his 80th year.

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80

Variety Todd McCarthy

Inspirational on the face of it, Clint Eastwood's film has a predictable trajectory, but every scene brims with surprising details that accumulate into a rich fabric of history, cultural impressions and emotion.

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80

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

Instead of a thriller, war movie or western, the director has turned out a stirring drama about South African leader Nelson Mandela, blending entertainment, social message and history lesson.

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80

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

A win-win situation in which a mainstream feature works equally well as stirring entertainment and a history lesson about a remarkable convergence of sports and statesmanship.

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75

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It’s not a great film, but parts of it are outstanding.

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75

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

It's never less than worthy and entertaining, but the importance of Invictus doesn't broaden as it goes along. It narrows.

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75

NPR Bob Mondello

Freeman's Mandela, however, is pretty marvelous -- so persuasive in gesture, in bearing, in that signature mix of gravitas and twinkle, even in accent -- that when a shot of the real Mandela appears over the final credits, it's momentarily jarring to realize you've been watching an impersonation.

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75

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The focus of Invictus is less on Mandela's psychology than his willpower and political astuteness.

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75

Washington Post Ann Hornaday

Invictus, which features outstanding performances from both its lead actors, succeeds wonderfully on its simplest level, as a portrait of political genius.

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75

New Orleans Times-Picayune Mike Scott

Not only does Invictus tell a remarkable story of a remarkable man, but it also illustrates how sports can be a salve to a wounded community. And that's something New Orleanians can certainly appreciate.

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75

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Eastwood has crafted something that works both as a sports drama and as an examination of the birth pains of the racially unified South Africa.

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75

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Damon is becoming one of the truest, most reliable actors of his generation. And Eastwood has more films in development, proving, at 79, that 79 is just a number like any other.

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75

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

As always, Freeman is a one-man charm offensive.

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75

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Freeman portrays Mandela not as a saint but as a man who knows he has the political freedom of being seen as one; it’s a majestically two-dimensional performance with glimpses of a third dimension peeking through.

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75

The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps

It’s a simplistic, superficial approach to a real-life story that marginalizes most historical details not involving scrums and tackles. It’s also pretty effective, in spite of the gloss.

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70

Newsweek David Ansen

The wonder of Invictus is that it actually went down this way.

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70

New York Daily News Joe Neumaier

Freeman is so in-tune with the former South African president's persona you can't take your eyes off him.

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70

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

A mildly rousing and reasonably satisfying picture about one man's efforts to mend the rifts among his countrymen.

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67

Christian Science Monitor Peter Rainer

Invictus has an understated grace, but too often it comes across as hero-worshipy.

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67

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Narratively, we all know where the trajectory of the story is headed, thus the culminating match (nearly 20 minutes) takes up too much screen time without adding anything new to the drama.

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60

Time Out New York Joshua Rothkopf

The movie isn’t adventurous, but I’m sure glad it exists.

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60

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

A temperate, evenhanded perhaps overly timid film about an intemperate time in South Africa.

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60

Village Voice Ella Taylor

Like every Eastwood production, Invictus is stately, handsomely mounted, attentive to detail right down to the Marmite adorning the team's breakfast buffet, and relentlessly conventional. As a portrait of a hero, the movie effortlessly brings a lump to the throat (Freeman gives a subtly crafted performance that blends Mandela's physical frailty with his easy charm and cerebral wit); as history, it is borderline daft and selective to the point of distortion.

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60

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Anthony Peckham's script is formulaic, woodenly reverent, and devoid of real dramatic tension.

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60

Empire Ian Nathan

Eastwood hits all the right notes in exactly the right order, but it’s his least personal film for a while.

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50

Slate Dana Stevens

As a non-South African, I can't speak to the accuracy of the movie's racial politics, but they feel insultingly vague.

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50

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

The result is earnest, admirable and more than a little dull -- a pedestrian movie about a remarkable subject.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 74 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Mark I gave it an8:
Enjoyable sports/historical drama set in South Africa immediately following Nelson Mandela becoming president. Wish I understood rugby better.

Homer S. gave it an8:
Donnie B- YOU ARE A RACIST!!!! Nah i'm just kidding its your opinion. I thought this was a good movie. Nothing fantastic, but good. I think a few details that should've been explained weren't (ex. They never explained how Mandella gained the loyalty of the African's. Other than that, it was good.

Ross W gave it a10:
Excellent movie. Well done!

Brent P gave it a7:
The well delivered message of tolerance and acceptance is reason enough to see the film. It film style feels foreign, which makes it all the more intriguing. I recommend watching on Blu-Ray or DVD.

James B gave it a9:
Clint Eastwood is a legend on and off the screen.

Donnie B gave it a2:
(disappointed sigh) It is difficult to review these movies because if you say anything bad about a movie on racism, you are deemed a racist. I am not caucasian so I say this with all love of races in mind, this movie was terrible! The only bright spot was Morgan Freeman's performance as the president. He did phenominal! The movie was boring and the conflicts disapeared halfway throught the movie with no explanation. Nothing ever really changed on the Barney kids' (soccor team) part, but everyone celebrated as if something changed. They would extablish character traits and plot points that never paid off. Remember, I am not a racist, I just know that this movie was awful!

Giulio F gave it a10:
Great movie, maybe not everything is true, but its captivating, touching, and really interesting. Acting is almost perfect and directing is really good. It kept me without any distraction, I couldn't think of anything different from the film.

Read more user comments >

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