Rating: 
Summary: Great Event. . .Good Movie
Review: Being a hockey player I was very psyched to see this movie since hearing about the making of it and last night I finally got the chance. I was quite impressed with most of the movie, Kurt Russell did a fantastic job as Herb Brooks and players did an excellent job portraying typical college hockey players. However, Disney did do one thing that I really didn't care for. They made the Russian hockey team out to be a group of cheap shoting hacks in the final game. On the first Soviet goal of the game the USA player takes a huge slash in the movie and goes down in agony as the puck squirts to the Russian player who shoots and the shot is deflected into the net. Alright, I have a copy of the game in my VCR right now and watched the game just a few nights ago. The player doesn't move the puck up ice quick enough and takes a slight hook where he loses the puck. It is just kind of over-dramatic and the movie doesn't need that. And many other incidents of the game are portrayed that way, when in fact it was the US that probably played a lot rougher and dirtier. But anyways, it was still an excellent movie. I would have liked to see more original footage integrated into the movie though, maybe even have used clips from the real game or the real announcing. I know Al Michaels did the game and the movie, but he isn't mispronouncing Slava Fetisov's name in the movie =).
From a hockey sense, the movie is amazing. The intensity of the practices, the comradary of the team, and the excitement and thrill of victory all are captured masterfully. Also, the subtleness of the political aspects of the game. A lot of the political influence is retrospective, not so evident at the time of the game or before it. It was after the victory that everyone looked at themselves and this country to what we are capable of.
Rating: 
Summary: I Believe
Review: MIRACLE boasts the kind of bravura performance by Kurt Russell, the kind of stirring storytelling, and some absolutely phenomenal hockey action cinematography that -- undoubtedly -- this film will rank as one of the finest truly 'sports' films every committed to film. Of particular note, the camera work is stunning when on the ice, and I can't think of another thrill ride -- putting the viewer in the heart of the action -- that's been done for quite some time. Russell embodies the character, the drive, the motivation, and the faults of the late Herb Brooks (killed tragically before principal photography wrapped on the film), and Russell's work -- while the Minnesota accent comes and goes a bit during some of the lesser scenes of the film -- is easily deserving of recognition if not by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences then at least by the Hollywood community: give this man some winning dramas, and say hello to the new Kurt Russell.Truly stunning.
Rating:
Summary: A Grand Third Act!
Review: "Miracle" is a movie with great preformances, a dull first act, a better second act, and a brilliant third act. It is based on the true story of when the United States of America beat the Soviets, which is also known as one of the greatest sports events in history. The movie also does a great job in recreating the final hockey game, to the point where it feels like you are at an actual hockey game. The preformance by Kurt Russell is great. If this movie came out a little earlier, or a lot later, it probally could have been nominated for best acting for Russell. This movie came out at the wrong time. "Miracle" takes place in 1980, and we are introduced to Herb Brooks. He was kicked off of his team years back, and that team won the gold medal. He makes it his dream to be on a gold medalist team, and gets the chance to lead the American Team into the Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. He leaves his wife patti, and his two kids behind and goes to Colorado to select the team. He has to pick twenty kids, and settles on them including the goalie Jim Craig, Mark Johnson, Mike Eruzione, Buzz Schneider,Jack O'Callahan , and Robbie McClanahan. Herb wants to be in the Olympics so badly, that he coaches the team with constant tough training, that eventually is questioned by his assitant coach Craig Patrick, and the team doctor Doc. He wants to make the team well diciplined, and physically fit for the big games. As the months pass, Herb and the team prepare for the game against the "unbeatable" Soviets, a game that changed America. "Miracle" would have been a great movie if it wasn't for the first forty five minutes of so. The beginning started a little dull, and the real excitment and enjoyment took place in the middle and the end of the movie, otherwise it was good. But the movie was not about the hockey team. It was about Herb Brooks and how he changed over the months and training with his hockey team. I was surprised to learn that he died during the making of the movie, and the line at the end is "He never saw it, he lived it," which is true. I wish I could have seen the actually game, but the game depicted in the movie was a very relistic sporting event, and even though I knew the outcome of the game, it was still exciting. I do recommend "Miracle" for an afternoon or an evening showing. It was a very good film, aside from a few dull moments. It was exciting, sad, funny, and smart. Great preformance by Kurt Russell is a highlight. ENJOY! Rated PG for language and some rough sports action.
Rating:
Summary: The Moose Hole - Miracles Do Happen
Review: There comes a time when a nation faces a crossroad in its history, a time where it must choose where the country goes next. That choice, whatever it may be, will shake the nation down to its core and change that nation's populous forever. In the United States, that situation was no more prominent then in 1980. It was the final year of the Carter administration and on the domestic front, the United States faced soaring inflation, sharp increases in energy prices and high interest rates. The nation fared no better overseas as American diplomats were taken hostage in Iran and the United States butted heads with the Soviet Union over their invasion of Afghanistan. All this turmoil in the presidency of what was the "smartest" president the country had ever had, who in one speech seem to blame all his problems on the American people. No wonder Americans were desperately looking for something to believe in. That revitalization of the American Spirit came in the form of the U.S. Olympic Hockey, who came from behind to pull off one of the greatest moments in sports history. The story focuses on a rag-tag team of hockey players who get past their differences and rise to beat the greatest team in the world at the time, the Soviet Union. Herb Brooks has a real score to settle. In 1960, he was all set to be part of the U.S. Olympic hockey team and bring home a gold medal victory for the country. The end result was Brooks ended up being the last player to be cut from the team and he never had another shot at that medal as a hockey player. As for the United States, they went on to win the gold medal but it would be the last one for nearly twenty years as the U.S.S.R. (or the Soviet Union) would dominate the ice from there on out. That is until Herb Brooks becomes the coach of the U.S. Olympic team and changes the way they play hockey. Instead of going the normal route of choosing NHL All-Stars, Brooks makes a wide variety of choices that he plans to create the perfect team to beat the Russians at their own game. In the world outside the ice rink, political conflicts collide with the Winter Olympics to create a game (between the U.S. and Soviet Union) that would act as a symbolic clashing of strengths. That moment that Americans were looking for something to believe in was now. The story for Miracle, which was based on the true story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team, was surprisingly quite inspirational. Why surprisingly? When an audience goes into a 'based on a true story' film, they practically know what is going to happen, so there is usually a great lack of enthusiasm in the material but Miracle combines the right amount of sports action and patriotism to make a rare nail-biting experience. If anything, it can be said Miracle lacks star-power in its cast but that doesn't seem to hurt it one bit as the 'no-name' stars carry the film with ease. Kurt Russell, who is best known in the Disney world for his roles in such classics as The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes and Follow Me Boys!, takes center stage in the role of Herb Brooks. Russell has the role down to a T including that wonderful Minnesota accent that never feels awkward or half-assed. What makes his performance all the more special is the fact that the real Herb Brooks died shortly after principal photography of this feature was completed, so knowing that Russell put so much enthusiasm and emotion into the role before the death of Brooks shows the real dedication of the actor in his films. Patricia Clarkson, who was just nominated for an Academy Award for her supporting role in Pieces of April, gives a decent performance based on the material given to her in the role of Mrs. Brooks. Granted the filmmakers try to show the complications between Brooks' dream and his family life but her role seems too much of a distraction based on plot. The U.S. Olympic Hockey team on a whole is exceptionally played by a variety of actors, each of which contributes a piece of his talent to create a unified representation on screen. Overall, any film, based on a true story, which can produce a movie-going audience cheering in applause as an end result is worthy of praise. "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!" This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise as Disney seems to have a knack for these sports films with such successes as Remember the Titans and The Rookie. They've covered football, baseball, and hockey. Can basketball be too far behind? Despite a wonderful showing, there are some things to pick at. One is the use of slow motion in the film. Granted this is a sports film and this technique is expected to be used, but in certain moments in the film, it just felt a tad awkward and wasn't necessarily needed. Another is just political commentary on the use of President Jimmy Carter's "malaise" speech in the film. In the context of the film, the filmmakers try to make it out to be an inspirational message, foreshadowing later events in the feature, when in reality it was Carter's blaming of the problems of the nation on the American people. Could it be inspirational in another sense? Yes, but not in the way the filmmakers were attempting to make it out to be. Miracle expresses how even in a time when a nation faces an almost uncertain future, the American people can still be proud of who they are and where they are from, in just one simple moment.
Rating:
Summary: I LOVED MIRACLE
Review: I absolutely loved this movie. I have never been so into a movie before. I felt like i was at the USA VS Soviet game!
Rating:
Summary: This movie is a "Miracle"
Review: with all the stuff that is going on in the news and world Today I.E. Michael Jackson and His sister. Peterson trial and all the news from over seas, this movie will make you forget about all things for the moment. I really liked Miracle even though i do not like hockey. during the movie I kind of imagined myselfin the ice rink in uniform with all the slushing of the ice and the puck being hit around the rink. it is one feel good movie. If you like or if u have seen the Rookie, Mighty ducks I & II and MVP (Most Valuable Primate) "your sure to like this one"
even if the critics put this movie down, 1. they do not know what they are talking about or 2. They were on their cell phone the whole time or 3.They had a chip on there shuolder
Rating:
Summary: Best movie this year!
Review: I have been wanting to see this movie ever since I saw the preview for Miracle. When I saw the sneak preview last Saturday, I came out of the theatre completly satisfied. This was so great a movie that when I came out of the theatre, I felt like I saw the actual game. I believe Kurt Russel did an amazing job playing Hurb Brooks (sp) and I also believe that the director made a smart choice in choosing real actors from Boston and Minnesota (not to mention they were very cute, especially Michael Mantenuto) Everyone needs to go see this movie this weekend... its sooo good!
Rating:
Summary: Relive The "Miracle" On Ice!
Review: Question: Out of all the "Based On A True Story" sports-related motion pictures (example: "Eight Men Out", "Rudy", etc.), how many such movies evoke a sense of nationalistic pride and patriotism (think "Cool Runnings")? "Miracle" fits the above description concisely. The period of 1979-1980 was a pivotal era in our nation's sometimes trying history: when the United States Olympic Hockey Team began training for the Lake Placid Winter Games, the American hostages underwent a lengthy 444-day stay in captivity in Iran, a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island detonated, and, what was likely the most important and intensive story of 1979, was when the then-Soviet Union began a long invasion of Afghanistan (which prompted a boycott by our beloved amateur athletes donning the proud red, white & blue, with then-President Jimmy Carter not allowing the United States to participate in the 1980 Summer Games in Moscow). Because the Afghanistan invasion was deeply ingrained in the American public's consciousness, the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team had another thought (and goal) in mind. The U.S. team hadn't beaten the Soviets at their master winter sport since the 1960 Winter Games, and most people believed the "Corrupt Commies" could not be defeated, except one coach Herb Brooks, who, himself, tasted olympic gold glory as a member of the 1960 squad. To get the best crop of amateur star-quality athletes possible, Brooks puts his squad through the ringer, literally sweating and browbeating this group of "determined" young men until he gets the champions he wants to compete on the ice. Although he got his opportunity at olymic gold glory as an amateur player 20 years earlier, Brooks' obsession with wanting to defeat the Soviets, this time around as a coach, finds him getting his current squad in shape in a series of grueling practices "again...again...and again", until this group gets it right, according to Brooks. As for the movie's filmography, the makers of "Miracle" really put the viewer right on top of the action, courtesy of the fast-paced action game scenes and the pan-camera shots, all of which capture the interplay between Kurt Russell and the other actors to a tee. In fact, from watching a viewing of this wonderful picture, I can tell Russell prepared for the role, doing his homework by watching videotape of the actual olympic game footage, as well as from various newspaper/magazine articles on Herb Brooks himself (although the dramatics herein may have been hightened a bit to draw the viewer into the movie, nevertheless maintaining a large degree of factual conciseness). A large dose of upscale theatrics, combined with a grand display of nationalistic patriotism, makes "Miracle" worth seeing more than once. A great tribute to perhaps the finest group of athletes to grace olympic ice: Jim Craig, Neal Broten (who went on to have an outstanding career in the National Hockey League as a member of the then-Minnesota North Stars), Mike Eruzione, and the late Herb Brooks, who died shortly after filming began. This "Miracle"'s for you (and for your viewing pleasure as well, at your local cinema today)!
Rating:
Summary: great movie
Review: I saw the special sneak preview of this on Saturday night, and I loved this movie. Kurt Russel was terrific in this roll. It is based on a true story and I think they did a terrific job.GO SEE IT!!
Rating:
Summary: One word: incredible.
Review: But, since you can't have a review with just the one word, I'll expand on it a bit. This film succeeds in capturing the atmosphere of the period. Americans were emotionally exhausted in those days, and Herb Brooks et al gave us something we desperately needed: a reason to believe that life would get better. That we would recover from the "malaise" that affected the entire country. Kurt Russell is absolutely outstanding as Brooks. The hockey scenes are meticulously recreated, and I liked the touch of having Al Michaels and Ken Dryden's commentary throughout the Olympic matches. Without hesitation, I give it 5 stars.
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