Miracle - B+

​Quick Hit: Kurt Russell with a surprise subtlety in this inspirational story of the 1980 Olympic U.S. Men’s Hockey Team.

Movies about sports are pretty much a favorite of most people. Almost everyone has a favorite sports movie: some are comedies for kids (The Mighty Ducks, Rookie of the Year, The Sandlot), some are intense biopics (Ali, Race), and most are underdog stories (Eddie the Eagle, Cool Runnings). The story of the U.S. ​en’s Olympic Hockey team has been described as the biggest “David and Goliath story” of all time (for my non-Biblical readers, David is the boy who knocked down a Philistine Giant with a sling and a stone). The Soviet Hockey team had continually crushed the competition, because they were trained ​better and pushed harder. They had a variety of talented men and a driven coach. This movie, Miracle, combines most of the different genres of sports movies into one, with mixed results.

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Miracle is not really about the U.S. team. It’s more about the team’s coach, Herb Brooks. He’s played brilliantly by Kurt Russell, in a role very different from one’s I’ve seen before (I’m a very obvious Carpenter fan, having referenced him again and again). He sinks into the role of this hardened, impassioned man effortlessly. You can tell that he really put in the work with Brooks to embody him fully. If you watch this movie, you will be mainly paying attention to him, because he is the best part.

That’s not to say that the movie doesn’t offer other things. There is a decent, if one-dimensional, performance by Eddie Cahill as the U.S. goalie. But very few of the actors featured were trained ​actors. Instead, these are athletes, and it shows in many scenes, particularly in the big games. 

Unfortunately, it also shows at times during the off-the-ice-scenes, as the collective acting is nil. Luckily, the movie knows that this is a weak point, and instead focuses on Russell and the hockey.

The hockey scenes are exhilarating. They portray a lot of the speed, action, and confusion that takes place on the ice. Here, the athletes shine, as we feel each hit, each slap shot, and each push of speed.
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There are two things I want to say before I finish out Miracle. The first is the true heart of the movie, the scene where Brooks finally gets buy-in from his players. He has pushed them to the brink after an exhibition game, and now they finally understand. They are a team, not individuals. And they are representing the greatest country in the world. It’s this lesson that I think more teams and athletes should embody. Donning the Stars and Stripes has become secondary to personal glory. That’s a shame, though understandable: humanity is selfish. (Ok, hop down from your podium David).

The second is that there is nothing quite like a high-riding win like the one in Miracle. I was born a decade too late to enjoy the events of that day, and 15 years from understanding them. But I know, as I hear the words of the announcer saying, “Do you believe in Miracles?!” (Fun fact, that was real dialogue from the real broadcast), that I’m going to at least tear up. Because sports can do that. They can connect you to past winners, past failures, and past times. They can bring together nations, and that, my wonderful Readers, is truly a Miracle.
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For more on this film, check out IMDB. 

It's USA, not US.