"Invictus"... just forget it, it's not worth making a joke out of

Invictus is a biopic about Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman)'s life during the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, derived from the book Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation (re-released as Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Changed a Nation). Nelson Mandela has just been elected president of South Africa, and aims to "balance black aspirations with white fears". Since South Africa is holding the Rugby World Cup, he sees this to his advantage, and supports Captain François Pienaar (Matt Damon) of the Springboks (South Africa's rugby team), believing that if they win, then blacks and whites will be united.

... Did that make sense to anyone else? It made very little sense to me. There is so much more this film could have done, as much of Mandela's time in office was glossed over, and the last half of the film was a rugby game that did not explain at all how it is played. That aside, it was a great film, quite possibly my second favorite of the year (behind The Princess and the Frog). Nelson Mandela gave some great speeches, and the soundtrack was one of the best. Director Clint Eastwood chose a South African group known as "Overtone" to do the tracks. And I must admit, despite not knowing a thing about rugby, I was still rooting for the Springboks to win. I'm now rooting for either Morgan Freeman or Matt Damon to win an Oscar. Now, this isn't the first sports drama we had this year... The Blind Side, anyone? I feel this edges over The Blind Side because it seemed less exaggerated for artistic purposes, and even though the last half of the film was a rugby game, it was seen coming and took up less of the film's running time.

The film got a PG-13 rating, but there was very little that actually happened to get the film's rating that high - just the intensity. The Springbok team jacket has a symbol for Lion Lager on it, and that kind of beverage is consumed at various times. At one party, they each have a sip from a beer can, but then toss their cans and say "This tastes like s**t!" As for violence, there's basic rugby tackling, and some rioting with a dead body on the street. The only sexual things I could find were Mandela dancing with a woman who wears a low-cut cleavage-bearing top, and François' wife kissing him despite his objections, but he joins in and they fall on the bed (the scene ends there).

If you're interested in the subject matter, sports dramas, rugby, or a huge fan of Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon, director Clint Eastwood, or the South African vocal group Overtone, definitely see it. Otherwise, just make it a rental.