ReaderKenka Let's be realistic.

Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

Mike LeMar The title doesn't match the story because it's not miraculous given that Herb Brooks knew exactly what he was doing from having figured the Soviets out through extensive obsessive studying. That's why he insisted at the beginning that he was the man for the job; it's not like he winged it or just stuck with the same scheme the Americans had been using all along and somehow it merely finally happened.

Tyler Smith One of the things that make Miracle such a thrilling sports film is the realistic action scenes depicting the ice hockey competitions of the United States Olympic team. Past sports films relied on the use of stunt doubles or professional athletes to perform athletic scenes in place of the main cast. However in filming Miracle, there was clearly no need for stunt doubles as the actors themselves were able to perform the on-ice actions required. This is due to the fact that the actors cast to play the roles of the hockey players in the film were selected primarily based on their ice skating ability rather than particular acting ability. I believe that this casting decision was a tremendous benefit to the quality of the film.As a very fast paced and high intensity game, a hockey film demands an enormous effort to efficiently capture the nuances of the gameplay during filming. While other sports such as football and baseball can be plausibly acted out by professionals in place of the actors because of the stop and start nature of gameplay, hockey must be filmed in a continuous way. Therefore, it is very difficult for actors and stunt doubles to be switched in and out during action scenes while still having the game appear realistic. To solve this problem, the director was faced with two options. He could either cast professional actors and teach them how to play hockey, or he could cast hockey players and teach them how to act. The director, Gavin O'Connor, chose to cast former college and minor league ice hockey players to play the roles of the American and the foreign hockey players in the film.In this case, I believe that casting former hockey players was the right decision and caused the films realism to be enhanced far and above what it would have been if regular actors were forced to learn a game that takes years to master. The cast as a whole had minimal acting experience, but still performed admirably well. The acting was not perfect, but the benefits of the realistic hockey scenes more than make up for any deficit in the theatrical ability of the cast. I can only imagine how deplorable the hockey action scenes would have been if actors who could barely skate were portraying the elite hockey players.In addition to the on-ice ability of the cast, the hockey players cast in the film are nearly perfect in their portrayal of the hockey sub-culture that exists at all levels of competition. With their long hair, foul language, and stoic determination, each and every member of Team USA is a token collegiate hockey player. Obviously, this stems from the fact that they most of the actors were at some point collegiate hockey players.In particular, Mike Mantenuto, who portrays defenseman Jack O'Callahan puts on an incredible performance. His shoulder length hair is a perfect imitation of what a hockey player hopes to achieve. Also, he puts on a very believable show of the grudge his character holds against another player, and the violent way in which the rivalry culminates. Finally, Mantenutos performance during the scene in which he is injured is a perfect enactment of how a hockey player would react to a potentially career ending injury. His face appeared to be emotionless, but his eyes revealed a deep heartbreak that only comes when a player is faced with the end of his career.In conclusion, the right decision was made when it came to casting the members of the United States Olympic hockey team. The hockey players-turned-actors were phenomenal in their portrayal of their real life counterparts. All culminating in what is clearly one of the greatest sports films of all time.

clarkchad12 The movie Miracle is by far one of the greatest sports movies I have seen to this day. I can watch this movie over and over and, even though I already know the outcome of the movie, I am inspired every time I see it. Being based off of a true story, a coach gathers a bunch of young college hockey players and puts together a team to take to the Olympics and face the professional Russian team. Despite the U.S team being young and inexperienced, their coach pushes them to another level allowing them to make a statement in the game. Their coach believes that it is more important for the U.S. Hockey team members to believe in themselves, and believe that as a team they can compete with some of the best hockey players in the world. The coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell), a former Olympic hockey player of the 1960 U.S. gold medal team, was cut by his team as a player so he returned to his love of hockey by coming back as a coach. Putting a bunch of young college kids together who were once rivals created a great challenge for everyone because they had to come together as one to take on the so-called, "Invincible Russians". The movie Miracle shows the entire story of the teams' struggles and battles and what they had to overcome to achieve a goal they were all "hungry" for. This game turned into something more than just winning the gold medal, it made a statement during the rough times our country was going through. This game was during the cold war and it provided our country a boost of morale at just the right time when everyone so desperately needed it. The movie Miracle marks an incredible part of our history by showing those who are not even familiar with the sport of hockey the importance of always trying to be the best you can be and always believe that you can do anything. Even though it is a long movie (approximately 135 minutes), it captures all of the great moments of the game; allowing you to understand everything going on and keep you on your toes. By showing all of the hard work and dedication the team has for each other and for others, it is a movie that can relate to anyone who has a background in sports. This movie is very inspiring to anyone who sees it and experiences all of the struggles the Olympic team of college kids go through together. The movie captures all of the dedication of the team members and showcases the incredible amount of conditioning Herb Brooks, their coach, puts them through to excel as hockey players. The coach wants the team to get out of their comfort zone and be the most conditioned team there is in hockey. The coach tells the team "they may beat us 9 out of 10 times, but not tonight," inspiring the team to give it their best effort. An example of this is when they show a scene when his team loses and they stay after their game to do what is now in hockey arenas all across the country as the "Herbys"; skating down the ice, stopping and starting on every line when the whistle is blown. This truly captures a moment when the team finally comes together as one and shows all of their hard work. The acting in this movie is incredible and the great shots they capture are truly amazing. I highly suggest to anyone who loves good, inspirational movies that they see the movie, Miracle. The movie tells a great story and allows it to be understood very easily. It shows the evolution of a young team shown as underdogs come to the ice and make a statement, rather than just playing a game. If you love to watch movies that have a great upset in them and that give you goose bumps from the thrilling action, this is the movie for you. Miracle is still one of the greatest sport movies out there today. It does not really focus just on the sport itself, but rather the hard work and effort it takes to overcome an obstacle and achieve success by believing that you can do anything. With the U.S beating the Russians, they sent a message to everyone that with hard work and a winning attitude, "Miracles" do happen.

Sboyer2101 This is definitely an under-appreciated film, not a lot of talk about it. With that said, its one that stays with you. I love sports movies, especially ones about underdogs. Usually they are about 1 person, or a specific team that has made history for doing something remarkable. Miracle is more than a person, more than a team, its about the entire country.I'm proud to be an American, and usually get a bit emotional when something big happens with the entire world watching. I was 3 years old when the 1980 Olympics took place, but watching this movie, I felt like I was there. I felt the emotion of crowd, the players, and that damn amazing coach. Kurt's performance was outstanding, and one that is now in my top 15 movie performances ever. I found myself forgetting it was Kurt.With sports movies, there is always a scene where the team has to 'dig deep' during a practice or what not, you kind of expect it. With that said, the scene when he made the team run the line drills over and over and over and OVER again made me cringe, but ended up being one of my favorite of the film. It was raw, real, and refreshing.Great film about the American spirit, a guy with a dream, and a team that became...a family.