No Pun Required

I was born in Gloucester, UK on 22nd September 22nd 1976. I share this fact with you to demonstrate that I was 12 years old in 1988 when a young man by the name of Michael Edwards (who also happens to be from my neck of the woods having been born in Cheltenham) became a worldwide celebrity after his performance in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. Now this wasn't because he went out and kicked ass, taking gold medals and setting world records, rather he came last in both the 70m and 90m ski jumping events, finishing a long way behind even the competitor to finish second last.

Whilst he may have been beyond bad in comparison to his peers it was Michaels dogged determination and infectious personality that endeared him to the world and earned him the nickname Eddie (the name he was given by friends at school) The Eagle Edwards.

The 1988 games of course are also well known for the debut of the Jamaican Bobsled team who's story was told in the 1993 movie Cool Runnings. Now bearing in mind that we are almost 30 years removed from the event it is surprising that nobody has brought Edwards' story to the big screen before but here we are in 2016 and finally his tale has been told by none other than Dexter Fletcher who is best known as an actor but has previously directed Sunshine on Leith and Wild Bill.

Taron Egerton stars as Eddie alongside Hugh Jackman who plays former ski jumper Bronson Peary, a drunk who never reached his potential but finds his own redemption in coaching Eddie and helping him get to the Olympics.

So to the plot of the film. We first meet Eddie as a young boy who's dream is compete in the summer olympics but who has a complete lack of sporting ability which holds him back. His mother (played by Jo Hartley) supports his dream whilst his father (Keith Allen) wants him to give up the dream and become a plasterer like him.

As he gets older Eddie switches from the summer to the winter games and tries out for the downhill skiing team as he aims to be a part of the UK team for the 1988 Olympics. However the powers that be on the selection commitee decree that he is not good enough to try out and give him his marching orders. Eddie appears to be ready to follow his dads instructions until he stumbles across the idea to try out ski jumping, so he heads off to Germany to learn how to jump.

It is here that he meets Peary who at first wants nothing to do with Eddie but of course eventually comes around after being won over by Eddies never say dies attitude. The UK committee do their best to stop Eddie from getting to the Olympics by increasing the qualifying distance after he achieves the old mark by way of an old loophole in the rules. He of course gets to Calgary in the end and wins over the crowds and media much to the dismay of the rest of the UK team and of course those who had done their best to stop him in the first place.

Now it should be noted that the plot of this film is along way from being a true reflection of Eddies real story. For instance he had already competed for the UK in the 1987 World Championships whereas the film depicts him as having never jumped before he landed in Germany and took it upon himself to throw himself off the hills. Also Jackmans Peary is completely fictional as Eddie was trained by American coaches in the United States rather than happening to stumble across a disgraced jumper in Germany.

There are many other points in the plot that are either embelished or completely made up but to be honest with you none of that matters. This film does not purport to be a 100% accurate telling of Eddies story, rather it is a feel good biopic (of sorts) about a young man who had a dream and refused to give up on his goals until he achieved them and in doing so brought a smile to anyone who saw him perform no matter how bad he actually was.

So with this in mind you have to score this film based on the story told rather than the factual history of the people involved. In doing that what you have to consider is that this is one of the best feel good movies of this or any other year. Egerton continues to prove why he is one of the best young actors in the world with his spot on portrayal of Eddie and all of the supporting cast are as good/great as you would expect (true Hartley is pretty typecast here but she plays the sympathetic mother role so well that it really doesn't matter).

Normally this kind of film would not be my cup of tea (not enough blood or zombies) and maybe it's because Eddie is British and I kind of lived this story as it happened back in 1988 but I really enoyed this movie and would happily sit down to watch it again anytime, it really is that good.

I therefore give Eddie The Eagle a very well deserved 8.5 out of 10.