You really can't have a sports movie without having an underdog in there somewhere. In fact, it's safe to call a sports movie an underdog movie because, well, they're one in the same.
So it goes with Eddie The Eagle, based on the real-life story of Eddie Edwards (Taron Egerton), an Olympic skijumper who - without official funding, training and bags of determination - managed to win himself a place in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta. Whilst there, it becomes clear that Eddie's refusal to take no for an answer and his doggedness will only get him so far. Whilst decamped in a training camp in Germany, Eddie comes across Peary (Hugh Jackman), a former skijumper who begins to train the unlikely lad for the Olympics.As you'd expect these things, Eddie's ridiculed and ostracised by just about everyone - fellow British athletes, his competitors, even his own father (Keith Allen) - but, of course, he cannot be discouraged.
Does this all sound vaguely familiar? Say, Cool Runnings, for example? That's because Eddie The Eagle is pretty much that - a British version of Cool Runnings, replacing a Jamaican team of misfits with one misfit with deep-dish glasses. The story follows pretty much all the beats you'd expect, with Eddie being knocked back at various points, prat-falling whenever it's needed and keeping himself relentlessly upbeat. It's infectious, to be sure, and if you can go along with it, it's all quite heartwarming.
Egerton's more than capable of making a fool of himself for the sake of a story and throws himself into the role with aplomb. He might be a dolt, but he's a loveable one. Hugh Jackman, meanwhile, has had plenty of experience playing an angry, maladjusted loner as Wolverine in the X-Men series. Here, he's giving a U version of said character with all the pent-up frustration and anger. The various swathes of recognisable faces, including one Christopher Walken as Jackman's old mentor, are cheery enough and there's a good-naturedness to it all that works.
Sure, it's all bit lighthearted and airy and the story ends up pretty much exactly where you'd expect, but so what? Sometimes, it's OK to be a little obvious and clichéd. A decent enough sports movie that has its heart in the right place.