Miracle   
 

Herb Brooks: Kurt Russell

Patty Brooks: Patricia Clarkson

Craig Patrick: Noah Emmerich

Jim Craig: Eddie Cahill

Mike Eruzione: Patrick O'Brien Demsey

 

Directed by Gavin O'Connor

Written by Eric Guggenheim

 

 
Simply stated, it is the greatest moment in the history of sports.  A group of fresh-faced 20-year-olds taking on the Soviet Union, the greatest hockey team in the world, and beating them against a backdrop of rising Cold War tensions.  It isn't too much of a stretch to say that the 1980 United States hockey team rallied and brought together a nation.

Miracle tells this story by focusing on Coach Herb Brooks, the man who put it all together.  More than anything, Brooks stressed the value and importance of playing together as a team to the young players he selected for the roster.  The film shows his grueling practices, his motivational techniques, and the reason for his desire to win so badly.  The story culminates in the Medal Round victory over the Russians and the famous image of captain Mike Eruzione calling the entire team up to the podium after their victory over Finland for the gold. 

Kurt Russell does an excellent job embodying the tough coach.  Sure, his accent comes and goes at times, but that doesn't take away from his performance.  He effectively portrays Brooks' unrelenting desire to succeed and get the most out of his players while slowly revealing there's more behind Brooks' methods.

The hockey scenes are fast and play over Al Michaels' actual calls with, of course, the famous "do you believe in miracles?" line.  They do as good of a job as anything else could at taking you inside the action on the ice.

The beauty of this movie is that it does not at all come across as jingoistic.  It isn't an "us vs. them" attitude, nor is it a rallying cry to support all things American.  Instead, it shows the sense of pride felt for your country's underdog team to surprise everyone and beat the overwhelming favorite.  The Cold War, the Iran hostage situation, the long gas lines at home are all shown to explain the magnitude of the event and the exhilaration that all Americans felt.  Unfortunately, there will never be a moment like this again, as more "dream teams" are fielded in the quest to win.  But, thankfully, this movie is able to bring those feelings back.