Invictus

Invictus is a real-life tale of rebranding. The inspired vision of Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) was to shape South Africa's Springboks club, a green-shirted symbol of the old racism, into figures of a new countrywide pride. That the team went all the way in 1995’s Rugby World Cup lends the partnership an almost mythic dimension; Eastwood is too smart to suggest that hatred was suddenly erased. Rather, he leans into the satisfactions of a meat-and-potatoes sports film. It also shouldn’t go unmentioned that Eastwood has shot a massive political epic on location within the studio system. The movie isn’t adventurous, but we're sure glad it exists.