Good but not great

Rating: 7/10 (14 November 2015)

This was good but not as good as I was expecting it to be what with Matt Damon, Morgan Freeman and Clint Eastwood directing. Actually it was kind of average with some very long winded sections of dialogue (speeches) and a mediocre outcome to the World Cup.
Usually I get all wrapped up in inspirational sports dramas but this final game was kinda meh, with continual cuts back and forth to the crowd, the game, people watching or listening at assorted venues. I guess I was also expecting the movie to be more about the rugby and less about the politics, although I did enjoy the glimpses we get into Mandela's personal life.
Truthfully about an hour into the movie the most interesting thing going was the "rainbow" team of the presidential guard and how they were interacting with each other and handling their new boss. Morgan Freeman's portrayal of Nelson Mandela is very good though and Matt Damon puts on a decent South African accent (and certainly got in shape for this role) but the story itself was kinda tedious.
It follows newly elected president Mandela as he inspires the (losing) 1995 South African rugby team to strive for the world cup in hopes of soothing the country's racial tensions.