The minute a Miracles from Heaven trailer came on before Eddie the Eagle on Friday night, I knew the movie I had intended to go see would fall short. Hugh Jackman and Taron Egerton even came on screen to thank the audience just for paying to see this film. You see, Eddie the Eagle is no outstanding film that breaks new grounds with its production. It is is no way new or innovative, but rather extremely formulaic and predictable. The jokes fly under the radar of comprehensive or sensible comedy and are never quite substantial. The movie is not terrible. In fact, the story is very engaging and has the audience rooting for our main character, the title Eddie, the entire film. It is difficult to not become encapsulated in the wonderful pursuit of Eddie's childhood dream.

The hard truth of the matter is that Eddie the Eagle is completely unmemorable. I walked into the movie with hopes for a sincerely funny sports movie considering the niche setting of the film and Taron Egerton's history with comedy. Hugh Jackman's one-dimensional performance didn't help the case for this movie much either. There was a moment in nearly every scene that had me in my seat regretting my ticket purchase. Some of the best footage in this movie is the recovered footage from the actual 1988 Olympics at Calgary. The story was inspiring, but the delivery was so dry and insubstantial.

I don't see any re-watching value here. There is little to no incentive to watch this film in the first place unless you are the kind of viewer who seeks out mediocrity in film and flat characters. It really is such a shame considering the real story behind the film is so heart-warming. I'm surprised this film wasn't delivered direct-to-video. I don't see this movie maintaining its relevance for more than a month after leaving theaters.

2.0 / 10.0