After a tumultuous decade, there is a "crisis of confidence" in America. University of Minnesota head coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) is hired to coach the US hockey team for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid. They are heavy underdogs. The Soviets even beat the NHL All Stars. The US team consists of amateurs who haven't got a job in the pros. Brooks intends to pick team players rather than individual stars. His assistant coach Craig Patrick (Noah Emmerich) is unconvinced. His marriage to Patti (Patricia Clarkson) suffers. He pushes his boys to the limit in training. With gas shortages and the new Iranian hostage crisis, there are few bright spots for America but this US team of underdogs will perform a miracle.This is a movie of great moments. There is nothing quite as compelling as the forced skate after tying the Norwegians. Kurt Russell is solid anchoring this movie. Maybe there's a limitation with the truth but this movie needs greater conflict. Somebody needs to be the villain who keeps threatening to take the team away from Herb. Also the players don't get enough attention. One player could be highlighted to fill out more drama. The players end up being all jumbo together. It would be nice to highlight one specific relationship of a player with Herb.

It's a feel good sports movie based around the true story of Coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) who had the unenviable task of leading the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid. Where the all conquering Russian squad were waiting.We follow Brooks as he assembles a youthful squad then pushes them to the limits, mentally and physically, all while facing pressures in his home life as he gives his all on the ice rinks. If you know your sports history then there's obviously no surprise factor here, but there's good insight into squad dynamics, of coaching and toughness involved in the many facets of high level sport. Russell leads his young cast admirably, while the action scenes during the matches have a kinetic energy that's most impressive. 7/10

" 'I'm sure there are a lot of people who do not know the difference between a blue line and a clothesline. It's irrelevant. It doesn't matter. …An event that needs no buildup, no superfluous adjectives, …the United States and the Soviet Union on a sheet of ice in Lake Placid,' " (Disney). This introduction, iterated before the climax of the movie Miracle, not only describes the viewing audience of the game, it can be compared to the audience of the film itself. It does not matter how familiar one is with the game of hockey, it is an action-packed, motivating, and at times poignant film that is overall fantastically entertaining. One of the best features of Miracle is the sense of realness the inexperienced actors evoke in the viewer through the rawness of their emotions.As one watches the film, it is apparent many of the actors are not recognizable, yet it does not take away from the film. The reason the men who portray the 1980 team will probably never show up in a major film is because they are not professional actors. They are former hockey players, with varying degrees of experience in both acting and playing. The director, Gavin O'Conner, explains his reasoning, " 'I didn't want to cast actors. You can't get actors to play hockey at the level required. I thought the way to go was to get hockey players born with the acting gene but who didn't know it and teach them how to act,' '' (Caple). The logic is simple: it is easier to teach a hockey player to act than it is to teach an actor to play hockey. Imagine a movie made with Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, or Daniel Craig struggling to stand up or perform basic maneuvers. It would take a lot away from the film. Many scenes involve up close shots of the actors making plays, getting hit, and enthusiastically celebrating after scoring. None of these powerful shots would be possible if stunt doubles had to be constantly used. The film's cinematography was complicated, and there are many scenes where the viewer is situated in the middle of the action, right alongside the players. As film critic Roger Ebert explains "We're in the middle of the confusion on the ice, feeling the energy rather than focusing on plot points," (Ebert). An atmosphere of being in the game and part of the team is created because of the actor's skating abilities. The casting choice made by O'Conner greatly effects how the viewer experiences the games. Not only are the game scenes supplemented by the actors, the characters become very realistic off the ice. As Roger Ebert calls to attention in his review, most athletic movies nowadays focus on one or a few individuals of a sports team, and this is not the case in Miracle. In fact, it is told from the coaches prospective. The purpose of this is for the viewer to get a sense of how a hockey team works. In comparison to more individualized sports like basketball or football, hockey has a completely team-oriented mentality to it. In order to play the game well, an entire unit needs to show up and play their best every day. If one piece is lacking, it all falls apart. The viewer is given a sense of this by the way the story is shown in the movie. There are players focused on slightly more than others, but no one is held on a pedestal and considered to be the savior of the team. This sense of togetherness is produced and enhanced through the actors. None of them steal the spotlight, and none of them want to. The men lived and breathed their roles both on and off the set. When the members of the real Olympic team visited the set, Jack O'Callahan commented on how seriously they were taking on their roles. "We visited the set and we went out together afterwords, and these actors would talk to each other and refer to each and they would use our names,'' O'Callahan said. "Someone would say, 'Hey O.C., what time are you getting up tomorrow?' and we would both say at the same instant, 'About 8,' (Caple).Even with the members of the real team, the actors were so used to calling each other by their roles' names they still responded to comments addressed to those whom they were representing in the film. The emotions shown by the men in the movie are that more believable when they fully take on their character. When the characters are so realistically passionate, it is easier for the viewer to connect to them and how they feel. O'Callahan, a man who lived the experience the movie portrays, praises the film, saying, " 'the passion, it's all through the movie at every level,''' (Caple). The actors in Miracle made an emotionally charged film about what is regarded as one of the greatest Olympic hockey moments in history so believable, the men who were on the ice considered it an accurate representation.Works CitedCaple, Jim. "Making a 'Miracle' on Ice." ESPN.com: Page 3. N.p., 6 Feb. 2004. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. Ebert, Roger. "Miracle Movie Review & Film Summary (2004) Roger Ebert." All Content. N.p., Feb. 2004. Web. 28 Sept. 2014. Miracle. Dir. Gavin O'Connor. Perf. Kurt Russell. Disney, 2004. DVD.

The movie Miracle is much more than your typical American patriotism movie. With the stellar acting, and spirited directing, Miracle extends beyond the reach of inspirational films and into the realm of pure excellence. After watching the film, one is left with a feeling of great patriotism nationalism and belief in one's country. Kurt Russell delivers the performance of his lifetime as he portrays Herb Brooks, a hard-nosed, passionate United States national hockey coach. Russell captures the character of Herb Brooks and develops his own passion as an actor. The active pacing back and forth and fast-paced and overdramatic gum-chewing helps Russell in fully becoming the head coach of the United States hockey team. One of Russell's most memorable scenes in the film is when he delivers a speech to the team when they are experiencing some adversity. Russell displays true acting brilliance as he is able to fully grasp the fierceness and desire for greatness that Brooks displayed when actually giving the speech. Even the casual viewer will feel the effect of this speech and feel that same desire for greatness in their own life. The constant action and dramatic moments of the movie will keep anyone on the edge of their seat and begging for more. Complementing the impeccable acting by Kurt Russell and others is the determined directing of Gavin O'Connor. Mr. O'Connor makes it much more than just a sports film about an average hockey team that rises to glory. He uses the historical events of the time to show how Americans can rally behind a cause, even when times are tough. The way that O'Connor is able to portray the struggles of a young team on their Olympic journey depicts perfectly the way Americans were struggling as a country to combine as one in their Cold War pursuits against the Soviet Union. O'Connor incorporates real-life events all throughout the film. This includes the way that the film begins with a brief historical year by year review and news clips with current events of the time scattered in. The current events that are displayed in the film really help to make the viewer feel that the film is more realistic and are instrumental in conveying the common themes of patriotism and extreme nationalism. Contributing to the overall greatness of the film is the dramatic scenes involving the trials and tribulations of representing one's country on the world's grandest stage. One scene in particular that I will choose to focus on is the semifinal game against the Soviet Union. The United States had been embarrassed by this team in the past as the Soviet Union were in a class all to themselves. Being a young, inexperienced team, the US was a major underdog in this matchup. After coming together as one, UNITED team, will the Americans be able to match the Soviets in strength and speed and beat the greatest team ever assembled? My all-time favorite part of the movie is when Al Michaels coined his famous phrase, "5 seconds left in the game, do you believe in miracles?! YES!" As an avid wrestler, I often used mental preparation as a big part of my success. Before every big match that I ever had, and I mean EVERY big match, I would watch Miracle in its entirety. The feeling of great inspiration and drive for success that I got after watching this film made me feel as if I could accomplish anything I put my mind to, a feeling that is exactly what Gavin O'Connor does such a remarkable job conveying. Well done Mr. O'Connor, well done.