Invictus/YMMV

• Critical Research Failure: Invictus was not the speech given by Nelson Mandela to Francois Pienard before the start of the 1995 World Cup. It was a speech by Theodore Roosevelt called The Man in The Arena. Invictus was probably used instead due to Rule of Cool.
  • it's actually latin for "Unconquerable" and it's also the name of the poem that kept Mandela going in Prison.
• Crowning Moment of Awesome: The ending.
• Crowning Moment of Funny: When Those Two Guys are about to go for a celebratory hug, then decide against it.
• Hilarious in Hindsight / Does This Remind You of Anything?: The plane that flies in lower and lower to the stadium where Mandela is located... before flying overhead and revealing the "Go Bokke" painted on the underside.
• Marty Stu: The portrayal of Nelson Mandela can come off like this, at least as it relates to anything directly related to the plot or to the South African government. Unintentionally lampshaded by one of his bodyguards when he goes jogging.
• Special Effect Failure: The film uses news footage of the real Nelson Mandela in the beginning (when he's just been released from prison) and at the end. Morgan Freeman may be the only man who could play him in this generation, but there is a noticeable physical difference.
• What the Hell, Casting Agency?: 5'10" Matt Damon as 6'3" Springbok captain François Pienaar. Still, his performance was mostly lauded by critics, and he ended up recieving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
  • Matt Damon Lampshaded this upon meeting the Real Life François Pienaar.

I look taller on film.