The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
By Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer March 18, 2016 | 12:49pm
Eddie (Taron Egerton) finds the right coach (Hugh Jackman) to help him fulfill his Olympic dreams in “Eddie the Eagle.” (Larry Horricks/Twentieth Century Fox)
"A true sports legend, British Olympian Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards was one of the most talked-about athletes at the 1988 winter games in Calgary, where he set an all-time British record in the 70-meter ski-jumping event.
"Of course, he was the first Brit in about 60 years to assay the trying, dangerous sport at the Olympics.
"His story is told in Eddie the Eagle, a triumphant, feel-good, laugh-out-loud, sports biopic. Eddie is portrayed in a star turn by Taron Egerton, the versatile English actor who was comic and touching in his breakout role as Eggsy, the lovable spy-in-training in Kingsman: The Secret Service.
"Everything I just wrote about Eddie is true. He really did break a series of British records that year, and he was an explosive presence in the media - reporters covering the games couldn't get enough of him.
"But the copy they wrote about Eddie hardly celebrated his athletic prowess: Eddie jumped for distances that rarely topped 65 or 70 meters. Skiers who actually won medals that year attained nearly twice that distance. The stories beamed around the world about Eddie were human-interest pieces that talked of how the perpetually awkward, working-class man-child had taken up ski-jumping only a year before the games.
Eddie Edwards at the 1988 Olympics (Bob Thomas / Getty)
"He was determined to become an Olympian, no matter what. He already had tried his hand at various sports and eventually qualified in ski jumping because the rules hadn't been updated since the 1920s, when it was easier to make the grade.
"Helmed by actor and director Dexter Fletcher (Sunshine on Leith, Wild Bill), Eddie the Eagle is a breezy, eminently fun adventure that recounts Eddie's remarkably odd, touching story.
"The cinematography of George Richmond (James Bond/Quantum of Solace) is a stand-out, bringing the audience into the terrifyingly fast-and-furious — and some might say insane — ski-jump experience with heart-pounding efficacy.
"The film's success is due in part to Hugh Jackman (The Wolverine), who adds a touch of spice as Bronson Peary, a burned-out, alcoholic, former ski-jumper-turned-groundskeeper so impressed by Eddie's irrepressible energy and optimism, he becomes his coach - and in the process redeems himself.
"Fletcher's crafted a movie that's both universal but also unashamedly, gloriously British. Very funny, genuinely moving and endlessly good-natured." (Total Film)
Watch: 'Eddie the Eagle' Official Trailer
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