By Marc S. Sanders
The Oscar winning film editor of Argo, William Goldenberg, finally directs his first film and it’s a winner. The true story of Anthony Robles, the one-legged NCAA world champion wrestler is brought to the screen in Unstoppable. While the story is paint by numbers for a typical sports movie, because it is adapted from his real-life experiences during his time at Arizona State University, it cannot help but be embraced. The cast is sensational as well, with not one weak link.
Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome, the Emmy winner of the HBO miniseries When They See Us) is a good kid. Anthony is loved by his brothers and sisters, and his mother. They cheer him on to persist and win. He’s a hero to his younger siblings. Anthony also gets much encouragement from his high school wrestling coach, Michael Peña, and his co-worker that he cleans airplanes with, played by Mykelti Williamson. Still, he has a troubled domestic life. His stepfather is an intimidating tyrant. Bobby Cannavale plays one of the harshest villains in recent memory. A towering monster with a voice that’ll make you wince. He’s verbally abusive and eventually we learn physically as well to Anthony’s mother Judy (Jennifer Lopez).
As the film begins, following a winning match, Anthony receives an all expenses paid ride to a Pennsylvania college. However, that school does not contend in the NCAA and despite everyone telling him to take the free ride, he has his eyes set on Arizona State. Even ASU’s Coach Shawn Charles (Don Cheadle, and dang is he ever good) is not confident in Anthony making the final cut for the team. Yet, Anthony defies what everyone else thinks and scrounges up the monies with his family’s support to attend the local university. Now the challenge is to make the team against all odds with his crutches to support him through rocky terrain hikes and laps around the track while carrying heavy weights. How does a man with one leg stand upright and manage to climb mountainous terrains in the desert heat while staying in pace with the rest of the candidates? How does he even hold a thirty-pound weight while running the track on crutches? Anthony Robles will show you.
Unstoppable does not offer anything new or inventive. Anthony even reflects on the fictional character Rocky Balboa a few times. There are challenges to overcome, not just for Anthony, but for Judy as well. The bank wants to foreclose on their home and her husband is monster of a jerk. Plus, there’s Anthony’s handicap which can never serve as an excuse for falling behind with the rest of his squad.
Some matches are lost. There are scary episodes at home. There’s the imposing undefeated champion that Anthony will eventually have to face. There are the loving moments between mother and son. It’s all textbook, and the ending is predicted as soon as the film begins. Still, had I known Anthony Robles personally while growing up, I’d be saying this story is prime for a movie or a book and that is what became of it.
At the 2024 AFI Film Festival, there was a Q&A following the film’s presentation. Jennifer Lopez, Jharell Jerome, William Goldenberg, and Judy and Anthony Robles were in attendance. To watch the film and then hear of these people’s real-life experiences afterwards is astonishing. Both mother and son came from rock bottom scenarios mired in debt and abuse. Now, long after Anthony has finished his career as a champion wrestler, we see that the two continue their crusades. I won’t spoil what they went on to next. The film provides a footnote ahead of the end credits, but it is nothing short of inspiring. The Robles demonstrate that anything is possible and nothing works as an excuse.
Jennifer Lopez and Jharrel Jerome share a lot of beautiful scenes together. Lopez might be easy fodder for gossip columns, but she is truly a wonderful actress. Jerome reminds me of when I first saw Cuba Gooding Jr in Boyz In The Hood, which was an astonishing debut of a promising career. This guy needs to be cast in a lot of beefy roles going forward. He’s a sensation.
William Goldenberg has made an under the radar film, but it has box office success written all over it like The Karate Kid or Rocky. His vast experience in editing allows for a well-paced two hours so that even if you know what is coming next, you remain enthralled and wanting to cheer on the protagonists.
The film will be streaming on Amazon Prime soon, and that is perhaps it’s only disappointment. Again, as I have written in other recent columns, a movie like Unstoppable belongs in the theatres first and seen with well attended audiences who will clap and cheer at both Judy and Anthony’s triumphs. Some of my fondest memories are watching the heroes I grew up with played by Ralph Macchio and Sylvester Stallone finally achieving that hard-to-reach gold crown, and suddenly there’s an overwhelming cheer from the audience within the darkness of the theatre. Remember when Rocky sprinted up the 72 steps of the Philadelphia Museum Of Art? A cued response almost seems edited into the context of the film. That kind of experience is absent from the private confines of a living room.
Unstoppable has joined the lexicon of amazing sports stories. You can’t help but cry while you are cheering.
2 UNPAID MOVIE CRITICS!!!! 