Not Bad at All

Rating: 7/10 (31 January 2004)

Movies on this kind of feel-good subject matter (especially when you know how it's going to turn out) can really only be SO good... but such an uplifting story can also only be SO bad. It's a great story with interesting characters (particularly Herb Brooks), inspiring and worth retelling. This movie could have been a lot more slick and manipulative, and to the director's credit it's not. In spite of his bad wig (Patricia Clarkson, who plays his wife Patty, has a pretty bad one too), Kurt Russell is quite solid as Coach Brooks. He's one of those leaders who declares early on, "I'm not here to be your friend," but of course earns the love and respect of every guy on the team. The guys -- all unknown or little-known actors -- are good (and look pretty authentically like I remember guys that age looking in 1979-80), though of course there is little individual character development. It is nice to get to know Jimmy Craig, the goalie, over the course of the movie, because it becomes quite clear that he pretty much saved the big game. The Russians had a million shots on goal and he blocked all but two. Overall, "Miracle" is a solid movie with a story that's worth revisiting. The period details are spot-on and even though the ending is no secret, it's quite inspiring.