No Miracles Happened Here

Rating: 6/10 (6 November 2004)

There are too many good stories to bring to the big screen. Therefore, a hierarchy exists in the script room. Films with the underdog coming from behind to overcome enormous odds just aren't enough anymore. Miracle made the jump to production not because it's about this but because of its sub story about the effect the underdog's victory had. 'Do you believe in miracles?'
The story is about one coach trying to bring the USA Olympic team to glory against the unbeatable Soviets. His team is comprised of twenty-some athletes fresh from either Boston of Minnesota, hence a rivalry. Their average age is twenty-one while their opponets have been playing together for ten years. Of course we all know what happens because, like all other sports stories, this one comes with the tagline 'Based on a True Story'. But that, albeit important, is not really what matters. The main focus is here is how they do it.
The team has a drill. They skate from the red line to the blue line back to the red. Simple, right? After tying a game, the coach (Kurt Russell) brings his team back out onto the ice as the audience is leaving and makes them run this drill again and again and again and again and again and again It's the most well done scene in the whole movie. It has you sympathizing with all the people on the screen. You understand Russell's anger and need to win but still can't believe he'd make them skate the drill again. Again and again. In the pit of your stomach you feel as if you may vomit yourself. The scene is set in partial darkness and scored subtly.
Too much time is spent trying to develop a side story about Russell's past career as an Olympian and how he feels he was robbed of a medal. This causes him to throw himself into his work and neglect his family. There are two or three arguments he has with his wife that start one way and then morph into wannabe 'money scenes' that might as well have tears streaming from the wife's eyes and a drunk, angered Russell. Instead, they try to get that same feeling across with their dialogue but that falters. However, everything comes across as silly and contrived.
Miracle is a Disney movie and it shows. It is clean family fun that is also uplifting and, from a distance, a good time. It gets across all the major points of the 'based on a true story' genre, including the side story built around the coach. The players are inter-changeable and yet you feel as if you know them. The movie gets you cheering and that was probably all it ever aspired to do. ***/*****