Fabulous re-telling of a great event...

Rating: 9/10 (5 October 2018)

The poor Americans took a real beating in the 70's. During the opening credits and in the early background, we hear reminders of the end of the Vietnam war, the Watergate scandal & the bitter protests. They were due for a break. Along comes Herb Brooks, a visionary Anerican college hockey coach, to coach the 1980 Lake Placid Olympic USA men's hockey team. Can he whip a bunch of green, but talented kids into a competitive team? To prevail, they will have to find a way to vanquish the Soviet Union team, a group that was making monkeys out of the best NHL All-Stars.
Outstanding performances by Kurt Russel as Brooks, in a role he was born to play; Noah Emmerich, a clever supporting actor, shines as Assistant Coach Craig Patrick; and veteran Kenneth Welsh is superb as the Team Doc. All the kids playing the U.S. players are excellent, and the hockey footage is terrific. A feel-good movie. (Note: this is the 2nd cinematic re-telling of this event--an early 80's flick with Karl Malden was the first, but it's been so long, I couldn't compare).