I was invited to an early screening of Unstoppable by Amazon MGM Studios. Unstoppable is the inspiring true story of Anthony Robles, played by Jharrel Jerome, who was born with one leg but whose indomitable spirit and unbreakable resolve empowered him to defy the odds and pursue his dreams. With the unwavering love and support of his devoted mother Judy, played by Jennifer Lopez, and the encouragement of his coaches, Anthony fights through adversity to earn a spot on the Arizona State Wrestling team. But it will demand everything he has, physically and mentally, to achieve his ultimate goal to become a Division 1 NCAA Champion. Unstoppable is coming to Prime Video January 16.
I remember seeing videos from Robles when he was in college and wondered how could a man missing a leg be so dominant. This film goes into Anthony’s journey to include his struggles and issues his mother and family faced. This true story is inspirational and showed true grit, guts and perseverance that one person can have.
Anthony’s support system was also important to his success. His high school coach (Bobby Williams), mother, teammates and college coach (Shawn Charles) were all instrumental to him finding his way to champion. I don’t even know if a movie can really do the story justice. How could someone born with one leg become an NCAA champion? It was a real life fairy tale.
Jharrell Jerome portrays Robles which makes him relatable and the audience want to root for him. You see his not great personal life at home with his siblings and mother. Which Jennifer Lopez did a great job portraying. Would you turn down a full ride scholarship to do what you love? He turned down a scholarship to walk on to ASU. Most high school national champions would be courted by every major wrestling program. This wasn’t the case for Anthony as schools saw him missing a leg as a weakness.
Anthony dealt with so much including an abusive stepfather, maintaining a job while being in school and a top athlete. He chose to go to ASU because of the difficult situations his family faced at home. ASU coach Shawn Charles, played by Don Cheadle, underestimated Anthony in the beginning but quickly learned that was not wise. The training scene up Camelback Mountain just showed how Anthony outworked everyone else.
One of the most interesting facts about the film was that Anthony actually served as the wrestling and training double for Jharrell in the movie. He also trained Jharrell for 7 months on learning how to wrestle. Overall the film was great. Was it a little formulaic, conventional and straightforward? Sure, but it was an inspirational story. Jharrel Jerome, Don Cheadle and Jennifer Lopez’s performances were great. I give it 4 out of 5 stars and anyone that feels like they are lesser should most definitely watch it for motivation. Having one leg didn’t stop Anthony from becoming a champion.
Anthony Robles’ unimaginable journey through NCAA division 1 college wrestling ended in 2011 when he dominated Matt McDonough to claim the National Championship at 125 pounds. Here is that video from the NCAA National Championship match between Arizona State’s Robles and Iowa’s McDonough.
Unstoppable Official Trailer
