The true story of the nerdy security guard who saved many lives during a
terror attack at the Atlanta Olympics features a couple of great performances – and a lot of silliness
Clint Eastwood’s latest film is a miscarriage-of-justice tale taken from real life, a parable about the evils of “big government” that plays like a weird mashup of Paul Blart: Mall Cop with a bit of Marty, the 1955 Ernest Borgnine film about a sweet, unattractive guy who lives with his mother. It’s got a couple of great performances – and a lot of ropey acting from actors playing crass and mendacious caricatures.
During the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta, an extreme-right terrorist named Eric Rudolph planted a pipe
bomb at the city’s Centennial Park that killed one person and injured many; he was not caught until 2003. The fact that the casualties were not higher is down to the unassuming heroism of one man: private security guard Richard Jewell, a nerdy, overweight guy who lived with his mom, yearned to be a real cop and was an officious stickler for protocol – he spotted the rogue unattended backpack overlooked by those regular cops that Richard idolised, and began to herd the crowds away.