Van Novack:

When considering the new Disney release "Invincible," my first thought is that formulaic is not always a bad thing. Sports movies have long been a Hollywood staple, and three films in the genre have even won the Academy Award for Best Picture ("Rocky," "Chariots of Fire" and "Million Dollar Baby").

While it is very unlikely "Invincible" will garner any Oscars, it is a film in the tradition of "Rocky" in that it tells the story of a seemingly hopeless underdog. Unlike "Rocky," "Invincible" is based on a true story. Mark Wahlberg stars as Vince Papale, an unemployed schoolteacher and part-time bartender from South Philly.

Like everyone else in his blue-collar neighborhood, Vince is a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan. Unfortunately, the fans haven't had much to cheer about lately as the once-proud Eagles have become a team that can't even win half of its games. In an effort to turn things around in 1976, team owner Leonard Tose (Michael Nouri) hires successful college coach Dick Vermeil (Greg Kinnear). Partly as a publicity stunt and partly out of desperation, Vermeil takes the outlandish step of holding public tryouts.

Vince, despite only playing one year of high school football and having no college-level experience, is encouraged by his friends to try out for the Eagles. Vince is the star of their violent full-tackle games played on a vacant lot, but it's beyond imagination that he has the skills to play professionally. In addition to his lack of experience, Vince is 30 years old. Despite the doubts of several people, including his own father, Vince shows up for the tryouts.

The tryouts are a complete circus, with anyone who ever played showing up for their chance. Even Vermeil's coaches are infuriated by the farce, as every candidate is too small, old, slow or similarly lacking in the basic skills needed to play in the NFL. After the tryouts, only Vince is invited to training camp, and he soon finds out his ordeal has just begun.

The other players, all products of elite college programs, resent Vince and are determined to see him fail. Nonetheless, Vince's determination surprises everyone, perhaps even himself. Vince doggedly pursues his dream and eventually earns the grudging respect of Vermeil and his teammates. Wahlberg and Kinnear play off each other well, as both Papale and Vermeil are out to prove themselves despite the skepticism of the so-called experts.