Credits
Distributed by
20th Century Fox
(United States and Other Territories)
Lionsgate
(United Kingdom and Ireland)
Production companies
Marv
Studio Babelsberg
Saville Productions
TSG Entertainment
Directed by
Dexter Fletcher
Screenplay by
Sean Macaulay
Simon Kelton
Story by
Simon Kelton
Produced by
Adam Bohling
David Reid
Rupert Maconick
Valerie Van Galder
Matthew Vaughn
Starring
Taron Egerton
Hugh Jackman
Christopher Walken
Iris Berben
Jim Broadbent
Cinematography
George Richmond
Edited by
Martin Walsh
Music by
Matthew Margeson
SYNOPSIS
In 1973, after a long period of medical treatment for walking difficulties, ten-year-old Michael Edwards dreams of Olympic glory, practicing in various Olympic events and failing miserably. His mother supports him, while his father constantly discourages him. As a young teen, he gives up his dream of participating in the Summer Games in favour of skiing in the Winter Games. Although successful at the sport, he is rejected by British Olympic officials for being uncouth. Realising he could make the team as a ski jumper (a sport in which the United Kingdom had not participated for six decades), he decamps to a training facility in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany. The more seasoned jumpers, especially the Norwegian team, belittle him.
Edwards self-trains, and after successfully completing the 15-metre (49 ft) hill on his first try, he injures himself on his first attempt at a 40-metre (130 ft) slope. Alcoholic snow groomer Bronson Peary advises Eddie to give up, but Eddie's tenacious spirit and a shared sense of being an outsider convince Bronson to train Eddie. Peary is an American former champion ski jumper who left the sport in his twenties after a conflict with his mentor, Warren Sharp, as Eddie learns from Petra, a cafe owner who takes him in. With very little time to qualify for the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, Alberta, Eddie and Bronson employ various unorthodox methods to condition and refine Eddie's form, and he successfully completes the 40m hill.
To qualify for the British Olympic division in ski jumping, Eddie only needs to complete a jump from a 70-metre (230 ft) hill. He manages to land the jump successfully, with a distance of 34 metres (112 ft), thus winning a place on the British Olympic Team. However, the officials, in an effort to keep Eddie from sullying the Winter Games with his amateurish skillset, change their criteria and demand that he jump at least 61 metres (200 ft). Though discouraged, Eddie decides to continue training and performs on a circuit, his jumps increasing in length each time.
While practicing for the final event before the cutoff date for qualification, he lands a 61m jump exactly, but misses the mark on his official jump and is disqualified. Eddie resolves to return home to work with his father as a plasterer, but he receives a letter stating that his qualifying practice jump is valid, and he tells Bronson that he is eligible to compete in the Winter Olympics. Bronson suggests he wait until the 1992 games and train for the next four years to give himself a better chance of winning a medal, concerned that he will make a fool of himself and his country if he goes ahead, but Eddie is undeterred, since simply competing in the Olympics was always his goal.
Upon arriving in Calgary, he is scorned by the other British competitors, who get him drunk so that he fails to attend the opening ceremonies. Despite finishing last in the 70m jump with 60.5 metres (198 ft), Eddie sets a British record. His triumphant celebrations win the audience over, and the media embrace him as Eddie "The Eagle". Over the phone, Bronson criticizes Edwards for not taking the sport seriously. Edwards publicly apologises for his antics and, wanting to ensure he does not leave the games without recognition, he enters the 90-metre (300 ft) jump, which he has never attempted before. Bronson now travels to the games to support him.
After an encouraging conversation with his idol Matti "The Flying Finn" Nykänen on the lift to the top of the hill, Eddie miraculously lands a 71.5-metre (235 ft) jump. Once again, he comes last in the event, but is nonetheless cheered by the audience and TV viewers worldwide, which earns him recognition in the closing speech of the President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic Games, Frank King, who says, "You have broken world records. You have established many of your own personal bests and some of you have even soared like an Eagle". British Olympic officials grudgingly accept him.
Warren Sharp is reconciled with Bronson, and Edwards returns home a national hero, welcomed by fans at the airport, as well as his mother and father; the latter reveals he is wearing a jumper that says "I'm Eddie's dad," and says he is proud of him.