Do you believe in Miracles...YES!

[Mandalorian Candidat]

I went to see Miracles last Saturday night at a sneak preview and thought it was a great flick. Being a hockey fan I had to check it out and I wasn't disappointed. It was kind of weird seeing it because of course the outcome is well known but I found myself on the edge of my seat, nevertheless.

The only big name actor in it is Kurt Russell (as coach Herb Brooks, R.I.P) but it didn't matter. (General Hammond from Stargate SG-1 is also in it but briefly and Al Michaels recreates his play-by-play dialogue). The unknowns they got for the US team were good and were believable as hockey players. Kurt Russell did a great job and he nailed Brooks' personality to a T, right down to the hair helmet and funky 70's pants.

There wasn't a ton of hockey scenes until the last 45 minutes or so when they do the Olympic scenes. Even then they weren't shot like watching a normal sports movie so some people might get disappointed in that regard. The plot is more driven by the large number of obstacles Brooks has to go through (negative US Amateur Hockey Assn., family problems, Soviet team's superiority, conditioning the team, breaking down their mental barriers, etc.) to get the players to gel as a team and push their limits.

The final match between the US and USSR was done well. Everyone cheered in the theater when the US scored, like you would watching a like game with your buddies, and the end was tense watching the US team hang on to the lead.

What I found to be great about this movie is that it gave a positive message without being mushy or preachy. It came across saying that if you put your trust in other people to play as a team and push your limits you may not always be a champion but you will play like one. It's a movie you can take your kids to see and not worry about language, sex, and violence (OK, outside of regular hockey violence ). I can see it not being a big hit box office-wise because it is hockey themed, but even non-hockey fans should like it because of the message. I thought it was just great because I remember watching the Lake Placid games when I was 10 and thinking hockey was the greatest sport in the world because of those guys.

[Kidhuman]

Sounds like a good movie. I want to see it but will wait for PPV most likely. I was afraid it would be like a Mighty Ducks grown up movie, since it was a Disney flick.

[Mandalorian Candidat]

Sounds like a good movie. I want to see it but will wait for PPV most likely. I was afraid it would be like a Mighty Ducks grown up movie, since it was a Disney flick.

It's definitely not. It's the antithesis of MD because 1) it's not goofy, 2) it wasn't made for an under 12 audience, 3) there aren't any court-ordered community service sentences imposed on the players, ergo it's not a public service announcement, and most importantly 4) there are no actors from Dawson's Creek or any teen-related TV show in it.

One thing I thought was cool was the opening credits. They replay all the crap we went through in 70's like 3 Mile Island, the Hostage Crisis, Watergate, the gas crunch (waiting at the gas station for literally hours to fill up), and the high inflation problem. This sets up the whole need for a national hero, which made the Miracle on Ice thing so awesome.

[Rocketboy]

Great movie - saw it last night.
I think even non-hockey fans would enjoy it.

[2-1B]

I'm very interested in seeing this film, thanks for the review. The trailers looked good.

I find it curious that here is a film about American triumph and all that goodness . . . yet it was shot in Canada with Canadian extras portraying American spectators.

Where's stillakid to comment on the export of American product like this ?

[stillakid]

I'm very interested in seeing this film, thanks for the review. The trailers looked good.

I find it curious that here is a film about American triumph and all that goodness . . . yet it was shot in Canada with Canadian extras portraying American spectators.

Where's stillakid to comment on the export of American product like this ?

Ahem... Ya know, there are so many that it's easier to point out the few that are made here. But this is on par with the semi-recent film "RUDY" (about the NY mayor) which was also shot in Canada.

[Darth Jax]

It's definitely not. It's the antithesis of MD because 1) it's not goofy, 2) it wasn't made for an under 12 audience, 3) there aren't any court-ordered community service sentences imposed on the players, ergo it's not a public service announcement, and most importantly 4) there are no actors from Dawson's Creek or any teen-related TV show in it.

4) jim craig was played by a guy with a recurring role on friends

[Rogue II]

ESPN Classic has been playing the game lately. I remember watching it back in 1980, gee I'm getting old. I'll eventually get around to seeing this one (and buying the DVD). I heard they hired hockey players and taught them to act (rather than the other way around). In fact, one of the guys in the movie is the son of one of the 1980 Olympic team memebers.

[Lowly Bantha Cleaner]

I would agree with MC's assessment of the movie. It is a truly inspirational film and one that warms the heart even though the outcome is known beforehand. It has been one of the few movies in where I heard applause (the others being the opening scenes of ANH: Special Edition, and for the endings of the Two Towers & ROTK)

I think Kurt Russell did an excellent job portraying Herb Brooks, the coach of the 80' squad. He had a lot of his mannerisms down, as MC said, including the Minnesota accent. Herb was from the "tough-love" school of coaching in where he knew how to get his players in tip-top shape by putting them through grueling, endless, seemingly meaningless drills. He knew how to invoke passion by stoking the fires of a player through a heated word or two. At the same time, whenever a team member was injured or down he stood by them, showing confidence in that person's ability because he knew how hard working everyone of his 20 members were.

The movie could have focused a little more on the camaraderie of the team instead on Herb's personal life. Yet, that focus does little to detract from the movie.

This movie is indeed for all, even those who find hockey a boring sport, because the crux of the movie goes beyond that. If you are a coach, a sports fan, or a lover of this country, you would enjoy seeing this movie. It took place during a time of uncertainty, when our country was in a "malaise" when morale was low and so were opinions of America. These scrappy young college kids took on a Soviet team of professional players and beat them at a game that they long dominated, a game in where if the Soviets didn't win by a blowout, the losing team would feel good.

It was also good to see the scenes that made the Miracle on Ice 80' squad so memorable, get recreated, like the fact that they came from behind every single game, the fact that they got shalacked by the Russians 10-3, just three days prior to the opening ceremony, the scoring of the goals during the critical Soviet game, painstakingly filming the exact set-up and timing of the goals, including the winner by the captain Mike Eurizone. Who could forget goalie Jim Craig's searching for his father in the stands of the Lake Placid arena, with a U.S. flag draped around his back. Or when the medal presentation was given, how the rest of the American players rushed on to the tiny podium, after Eurizone beckoned them to come.

You saw how making the team a winner consumed Brooks life for seven months prior to the big showdown, and how it teared at him, partly because he came so close before. Herb was a player on the U.S. squad who was cut just a week prior to the games of in 1960, in where the U.S. would eventually win the Gold.

It was sad to know that Brooks died last year, just after filming for the movie was completed. But as the movie said at the end, "Herb never saw the movie. He lived it." And while for those who never were there could never capture the reality of the moment, yet if you do see this film at the theatre, you will get a feel for what the world witnessed in Lake Placid in February of 1980.

[Darth Kirk]

It was a feel-good kinda film.. It struck my patriotic chord..