“Invictus” isn’t an incredible biography film or anything like that but it is a charmingly told inspirational story brought to life by good acting. Also, if you are not a fan of the sport of rugby then don’t let that be the thing to stop you from seeing “Invictus”.

“Invictus” showcases a lovely story from recent history. Shortly after being elected, President Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman “Se7en”, “The Dark Knight”) saw an opportunity and managed to help his rugby team achieve victory in the 1995 Rugby World Cup so he could bring the rainbow nation of South Africa together in joy.

Matt Damon (“The Bourne Identity”, “Good Will Hunting”) is great as the captain of the rugby team Francois Pienaar. Nobody else could play Nelson Mandela than Morgan Freeman and even Mandela himself has said nobody else could. Morgan Freeman clearly tries hard to do justice and I’m happy to report he did a good job. I do have a complaint about the Mandela character in this movie though. It’s obvious he was passionate about this whole rugby thing but the movie does seem to make it look like he just spend an entire year focused on rugby without really trying to sort anything else out which I’m sure can’t be true.

“Invictus” is a special movie, not a brilliant one but nevertheless it is special. Brought to us by director Clint Eastwood (“Bird”, “Flags Of Our Fathers”) with a script by Freeman, it is a decent film. If you want to see a pleasant, feel-good picture then “Invictus” is a reasonable choice. The best bit about the whole film is that they show the real cell where Mandela spent 24 of his 27 years in prison because it shows how much they cared about making an authentic film. It’s definitely a powerful moment.