Currently streaming on Prime Video is the movie Unstoppable. Directed by Oscar winning film editor William Goldenberg, the movie premiered at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.
The movie was released on Prime Video on January 16th, 2025. It is rated PG-13 with a runtime of 2 hours 4 minutes.
The Premise and Cast
Unstoppable centers around the life of wrestler Anthony Robles, who won the 2011 NCAA individual wrestling national championship in the 125-pound weight class, despite being born with only one leg.
The movie follows Anthony as a teenager, played by Jharrel Jerome. We see him wrestling as a high school student.
He’s quite good and his goal is to go to Iowa State with a wrestling scholarship. However, Iowa State did not select him and the only school offering him admission was a school called Drexel University.
Drexel offered him a full ride, tuition, room and board. However, Anthony had his eyes set on going to Iowa because they were known as a school that produces NCAA champions.
When Anthony’s mom Judy Robles, played by Jennifer Lopez, starts having some issues with his stepfather, Anthony realizes he cannot go far from home.
Judy works at Target and is struggling to make ends meet for Anthony and his younger siblings.
His stepfather, Rich, played by Bobby Cannavale, is a corrections officer. Both Judy and Rich have an abusive relationship.
Anthony’s wrestling coach played by Michael Peña connects him with the wrestling coach from Arizona state Sean Charles, played by Don Cheadle.
At the meeting, Sean Charles is very straight with Anthony. He tells him that the program at ASU is very selective and the only reason he is even entertaining the meet is out of respect to his wrestling coach. He tells Anthony that the best he can offer him is to bring him on as a walk-on but that would mean he would have to compete for a spot on the team.
A lot of the movie centers on the obstacles Anthony and his family face, his training and dedication to his sport, how his endurance is noticed and respected by his teammates, and the NCAA individual wrestling national championship.
What I Liked About Unstoppable
I wasn’t familiar with the real-life story, so I enjoyed learning about it.
Seeing pictures of the real Anthony Robles and Judy Robles was a good addition. It was great learning about the things they both went on to accomplish.
In terms of the performances, Jharrel Jerome did a great job conveying his emotions sometimes without words.
For Jennifer Lopez, this is probably the best movie I have seen her in more recent times. She did a great job as Anthony’s mom. She conveyed a woman who made some bad choices earlier but who took steps to make changes. I found the character believable and likeable.
The rest of the supporting cast did what they needed to do.
What I Didn’t Like
The movie had some age issues. All the actors throughout the years highlighted in the movie, looked like their ages were frozen in time.
There was one flashback scene in the car where Anthony is much younger. In that scene, both Judy and Rich look exactly the same as we see them during Anthony’s teenage years.
Same thing for Anthony’s siblings, from his Mesa High School days to his sophomore years, his siblings appear the same as though everything happened in one continuous take.
I know this was primarily Anthony and Judy’s story, but I would have liked to see more of the other characters. Even though this was a 2-hour movie, I couldn’t shake the feeling that a chunk of the movie had been edited out.
Final Thoughts on Unstoppable
Unstoppable was a good watch. I am not familiar with wrestling as a sport, yet I enjoyed the competitive portions that were shown in the movie. I enjoyed watching Anthony’s journey, training and resilience.
How Would I Rate This Movie?
I would rate it 3 out of 5.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐☆☆ (3/5)
Be the first to comment