Invincible

Several critics observe that Invincible is the kind of movie for which Disney owns the original formula and manages to churn out better than its competitors: the inspirational underdog-who-overcomes-all-odds feature. (A typical comment is Richard Roeper's in the Chicago Sun-Times, who writes: "The Disney sports-movie playbook remains predictable but pretty much unstoppable.") This one concerns the real-life Vince Papale, played by Mark Wahlberg, who on a dare tried out for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976 and made the team as a receiver. The film's release comes three weeks into the NFL preseason. "Invincible might not be in the Super Bowl of this year's movies," writes Stephen Williams in Newsday, "but it's psyched me for the season." In Papale's home town, Carrie Rickey predicts in the Inquirer that the movie will likely make Papale's name "in a matter of weeks ... synonymous with that of Rocky Balboa." Christy Lemire of the Associated Press sums up: "It's a great story. And it has the added benefit of being (mostly) true." A few critics throw the equivalent of penalty flags at it. Eleanor Ringel Gillespie in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution gives it a D+ and concludes: "If you want to see a movie about bad '70s hair and tiresome sports-movie clichs, Invincible is all yours."