Unstoppable is a fact-based film about real-life wrestler Anthony Robles (Jharrel Jerome, who was in 2016’s Moonlight and won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for 2019’s When They See Us). It’s the directorial debut of William Goldenberg (who received four Academy Award editing nominations and won the Oscar for 2012’s Argo) and is co-produced by Ben Affleck and co-exec produced by Matt Damon. Robles was born out of wedlock with only one leg to his solo mom Judy (Jennifer Lopez) and is fixated on compensating for his missing limb. (As his biological father is never disclosed onscreen, I’m unsure as to exactly what the dark-skinned Robles’ ethnicity is.)
Determined that the first thing people say or think about him won’t be that he’s “missing” something because he’s one-legged, the Arizona-born and -raised Robles doggedly pursues wrestling on the high school and collegiate level. He embarks on grueling training, puts up with taunts in his single-minded, fanatical pursuit to make the Arizona State University team so he’ll be perceived first and foremost as a champ, not as a cripple with a severe handicap. At the same time, Robles has to contend with the abuse of Judy’s husband, Rick (Bobby Cannavale), a mean-spirited prison guard, and presumably the father of her later children.
The script by Eric Champnella, Alex Harris, and John Hindman does a good job of interweaving the sports saga with the family drama in this rousing 116-minute movie. The action scenes, when Robles goes to the mat and takes on all comers, are well-shot in the tradition of sports movies like Raging Bull and Rocky (there are repeat references to the latter franchise when Robles wrestles in Rocky Balboa’s hometown, Philly).
Unstoppable has a great cast who pack a punch (or should I say deliver a headlock?) with their powerful performances. Michael Peña and Don Cheadle are earnest and motivational as, respectfully, Robles’ dedicated high school and college coaches. Cannavale is alternately menacing and pathetic as the kind of loser who’d cast his ballot for Trump because he’s a “real man.” Jenny from The Block is poignant as the beleaguered mom who’s trying to make ends meet and hold her family together, as she deals with temperamental Rick and is unwavering in her support of her son’s special needs and championship quest. No stranger to playing true-life characters such as in 1997’s Selena, perhaps Lopez related to Judy Robles as a fellow Latina who has had marital problems of her own.
In the AFI panel discussion following the screening, it came out that the real-life Anthony Robles—who took part in the post-film talk—actually participates in some of the onscreen wrestling sequences as a sort of stunt double. (He also shares producer credits and is far buffer than the actor who depicts him.) I didn’t recognize Jharrel Jerome when he joined the panel because he has both legs! For some reason, it was never raised during the discussion precisely what movie magic was used to hide or “remove” one of his limbs onscreen.
To tell you the truth, sports productions aren’t among my favorite film genres. I think the over-adulation and compensation of athletes are unseemly in a society wracked by income inequality and poverty. If someone can explain to me why sportsmen deserve millions of dollars while hundreds of thousands go hungry and/or are homeless, I’ll eat my proverbial hat. I also don’t believe in competition—I prefer cooperation—and the more violent a sport is, the more I disapprove. My cousin Jonathan was a collegiate wrestler and he’s a brainy, good guy with some sort of high-paying tech- or science-related job, so I don’t look down on wrestlers as a bunch of all-brawn, no-brains dolts or anything like that. I simply don’t like the violence of wrestling and other contact sports. In addition, I think Robles’ disability is actually a metaphor for how the injustices and inequities of racism can cripple human beings.
Having said all that, I quite enjoyed this stirring biopic about the power of willpower. And the admirable arc of Judy Robles, whom Lopez played and was also in person on the panel at AFI Fest, is arguably just as impressive as her son’s, as the Hispanic single mother struggles to overcome the adversity life has dealt her. In some ways, it’s more moving than her son’s fight to go for the gold. Audiences, especially sports fans, are sure to enjoy this crowd-pleasing, exciting sports/family survival melodrama. Unstoppable will be released in select theaters on Dec. 6 and on Prime Video starting Jan. 16, 2025. The trailer is here.
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