South Philly wasn’t exactly a fun place in the ’70s. Labour unrest led to joblessness, and joblessness led to losing your wife — at least for Vince Papale, the real-life focus of “Invincible.”

Though it’s first and foremost a typical sports movie (i.e. unlikely hero triumphs over obstacles and skeptics), “Invincible” manages to include the outside issues and tensions of the time, creating a much fuller film.

Mark Wahlberg stars as Papale, an out-of-work teacher/part-time bartender. His beloved-yet-struggling Philadelphia Eagles NFL team takes on a new coach (Dick Vermeil, played by Greg Kinnear), who brings with him an unconventional approach — opening team tryouts to the public.

Though Papale was 30 and hadn’t even played college football, his friends manage to pressure him into attending the open tryouts.

Of course, the rest of the story and its ultimate conclusion are fairly predictable. And while this is to be expected from a film that retells a true story, “Invincible” doesn’t manage to create much tension; not enough is done to trick the audience into thinking, “Maybe he won’t make it.”

The movie also suffers from a rather formulaic love subplot. While Papale may have actually been developing a new romance while also aiming for the NFL, it sure feels awfully Hollywood-esque.

In all, though, this isn’t a bad sports movie. With Vince Papale as the focus, “Invincible” has an incredible story at its core, and goes out of its way to capture a time of turmoil that affected much more than just a single man.






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