With ASU football finished for the season, the Sun Devils have cemented themselves as true underdogs in every sense of the word. The feelings that come from seeing a team everyone doubted somehow pull it off are heightened when it's your team. For those of us who are looking for more, now is the perfect time to release this movie.
READ MORE: Insight Gallery: From preseason underdogs to conference champions
After seeing the first trailer, I knew I had to see it. I mean, a story about an ASU student who was constantly doubted his whole life for only having one leg? It sounded like a true underdog story.
After work one night I got together with my two closest friends, grabbed some snacks from Sonic and started up the movie. While we sat in my dorm with only two chairs to share between the three of us, I thought about how, despite the unorthodox viewing, this felt more authentic to my ASU experience.
"Unstoppable," which stars Jharrel Jerome as Anthony Robles, is the story of an ASU wrestler who, after being doubted because of his missing right leg, wins the national wrestling championship.
In the beginning of the movie, we weren't really having as much fun, as there were some pretty cheesy moments, not many ASU references and worst of all, a lack of Don Cheadle. The few times the school was mentioned it felt unnatural, hearing these larger-than-life movie stars saying Arizona State or ASU.
Robles starts as a high school state champion who dreamed of going to Iowa State and was given a full-ride scholarship to Drexel University. But, I knew from the trailer that he went to ASU. Don't get me wrong, I love being a Sun Devil, but in the beginning, I kept asking myself over and over, "Why'd this guy choose ASU?"
As the movie went on, we learned more about how his family life forced him into choosing a school that was closest to him, a feeling that could ground the movie for students.
When he first visited the campus, it was hard to take it seriously as an ASU student. The way they showed off Gammage and Palm Walk in such an overly cinematic way had my friends and I laughing. Throughout the movie, we'd often point at the screen every time we saw a familiar location.
"Oh, there's Hayden Library!" and "Are they inside the MU right now?" were just some of the comments exclaimed throughout the film. The funniest part had to have been when Don Cheadle, who played the ASU wrestling coach Sean Charles, told a story while switching stadiums every ten seconds.
Along with ASU locations, there were some spots like hiking trails that grabbed my attention. I took a photo and asked my hiking buddy if he had been there before, only to receive the embarrassing response of, "Yeah, we did part of that hike."
As the movie went on, its heart began to shine through, despite the somewhat cheesy start. In the beginning, every time the actors mentioned ASU it felt inauthentic, but after seeing Anthony become close with his teammates and coach, the ASU mentions felt more earned.
Hearing Don Cheadle call them Sun Devils not only felt real within the context of the film but gave me pride as I felt connected to this story. While I may not have watched the film if it weren't for the ASU ties, I truly am glad to have experienced it with my fellow ASU students.
For every cheesy or fake-feeling moment, there were twice as many that felt real and earned. So to anyone reading this who hasn't seen the film, I highly recommend grabbing some Sun Devil friends and giving it a watch.
Edited by Andrew Dirst, Sophia Ramirez and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at mamareng@asu.edu and follow @matthewmarengo on X.
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Matthew is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communications. This is his third semester with The State Press. He has also worked at The Cut Network.
