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Miracle

The phrase "Do you believe in miracles?" has become synonymous with the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York; specifically the United States ice hockey team’s unbelievable victory against the previously unbeatable Soviet team. Miracle is the true story of how these underdogs rose to the challenge of beating a squad that had been virtually unstoppable for two decades, while giving the United States the hope it needed, in a time when politics was a dominating force in every day life.

Kurt Russell plays Herb Brooks, the strict, no-nonsense coach who was given eight months to turn a group of college hockey players, most of whom had never skated before on the same team, into an Olympic-winning phenomenon, which few people believed could actually happen. The movie focuses on Brooks and how he transforms his team, of past rivalries and semi-distracted players, into a miracle on ice. America knows the story of the gold medal. Miracle is the story of a coach and his players.

Aside from Russell and a few familiar faces, the cast is practically unknown. Patricia Clarkson (Pieces of April, Far from Heaven) portrays Brooks’s wife, Patty, who struggles throughout the movie with her husband’s preoccupation with coaching. Noah Emmerich (Beyond Borders, The Windtalkers) plays the assistant coach, Craig Patrick, who looks out for the team when Brooks’s method seems more like madness than strategy. In one particular scene, Brooks forces the players to run drill after drill, while they were clearly on the verge of exhaustion, which illustrates Brooks’s drive to build a serious team. However, it is also pivotal in conveying how the players come together to be the team that will finally beat the Soviets. As Brooks says early in the film, he’s not looking for the best players, he’s looking for the right ones.

With the exception of a few actors, the men who play the roles of the United States hockey team members are actual hockey players, making their big screen debuts with this film. Eddie Cahill (TV’s Friends and Felicity) plays goalie, Jim Craig, who mourns the loss of his mother and has a difficult time playing to his full potential. Nathan West (Bring It On) portrays Rob McClanahan, a player who has an on-going rivalry, which is established early in the film, with teammate and tough guy, Jack O’Callahan, played by newcomer Michael Mantenuto. Also new to the big screen is Patrick O’Brien Demsey, who plays team captain, Mike Eruizione, and Eric Peter-Kaiser, playing one of the leading scorers, Mark Johnson. Team jokester, Ralph Cox, is portrayed by Kenneth Mitchell (The Recruit). The team possesses such chemistry by the middle of the film, that when Brooks must cut a player in order to meet Olympic regulations, the viewer can’t help but hope that an exception will be made for him and he can stay on the team. While most of the stars in the movie are first-time actors, they come across as professionals on screen and on the ice.

Directed by Gavin O’Conner (Tumbleweeds) and written by Eric Guggenheim, Miracle possesses elements that entertain all audiences. Hockey fans could enjoy this movie for the hockey, if nothing else, while viewers who wouldn’t necessarily consider themselves hockey enthusiasts would love the film for the story of Herb Brooks and how his players overcame all odds to beat the Soviets, which was a major boost for the United States, considering what was going on in the country and the world at that time. Knowledge of hockey lingo is not necessary to enjoy this inspirational story. Miracle encompasses history with a human interest twist, and even most Americans who remember that time will gain a new perspective on it, while watching the movie from a different point of view. The movie isn’t just about a team that won the gold medal. If it was, then more movies would be made about Olympic teams and Super Bowl winners. This is a movie that cuts right to the heart of why people decide to play sports, and the determination it takes to overcome fear and doubt, when all odds are in favor of the other team.

Parents should not take small children to see this movie if they think it is just another Mighty Ducks. While fun and exhilarating, the politics that underline this film would be difficult for a young child to understand. Miracle is a bit more serious than the Mighty Ducks movies are, and parents would be better off reminiscing in the movie theater without the children. Miracle is rated PG for some hockey fighting and mild language.

Written by: Rebecca Keller

Reviewers Rating: 9.5
Reader's Rating: 9.57
Reader's Votes: 7

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