‘Invincible’ Scores Big

invincible_2006_mark_wahlbergCombining a solid soundtrack and heartfelt performances from Mark Wahlberg [Rockstar, Boogey Nights] and Greg Kinnear [Someone Like You, As Good As It Gets], “Invincible” is this generations version of “Rocky,” telling the remarkable story of former Philadelphia Eagle Vince Papale with realism, energy and compassion.

Produced by Mark Ciardi [Miracle, The Rookie], “Invincible” does a wonderful job of depicting the downtrodden Philadelphia area during the 1970’s, combining dark and dirty city landscapes and muddy bar scenes and factories, that capture the desperation of Papale and the people around him that are anxiously awaiting for a hero to get them through tough times.

Playing the reluctant hero is Wahlberg, who many will notice has bulked up considerably for this part and fits the role of the rough, but caring Papale to a T. Trying desperately to make something of his life after his wife leaves him, the substitute teacher/ bar tender tries to make the team he grew up rooting for after new coach, Dick Vermeil [played by Kinnear] announces open tryouts.

Paralleling each other the entire film, Papale and Vermeil both have something to prove and lean on one another to accomplish their goals, inducing many memorable moments that are sure to have football fans and movie-goers alike on the edge of their seats. In addition to Wahlberg and Kinnear’s solid performances, Elizabeth Banks and Kevin Conway round out the acting in this film extremely well, providing comedy and sincerity with great performances as Papale’s girlfriend and father.

While the cinematography and acting in “Invincible” is something to behold, the musical score adds depth and familiarity to a film that was already amazing. The opening scene of the film fuses Jim Croce’s “I Got A Name” with the dark, dismal streets of Philadelphia, making it one of the best introductions to any movie in quite some time. Doby Gray, Ted Nugent, Grand Funk Railroad and Rod Stewart all make appearances on the soundtrack as well, making the music in the film just as strong as the cinematography and acting.

Overall, “Invincible” is a sure-fire hit. Disney may not be able to cut the mustard with their animated pictures anymore without the help of Pixar, but with this film, they have proven once again that they’re slowly becoming the cat’s meow as far as sports-dramas are concerned.

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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