Great Sports Film

Rating: 8/10 (1 March 2004)

I don't know how anyone, at least here in the states, can come away from this film and not be feeling a sense of patriotism. The movie is focused around the 1980 Olympic hockey team and what they accomplished in route to the gold medal in Lake Placid. I felt the movie did a good job in presenting what most viewers of the film probably already knew going in...a team of individuals that rose to unexpected heights and pulled off a miracle victory against a superior team in the Soviet Union.
I went to see this movie for numerous reasons including my enjoyment of hockey and being a Kurt Russell fan. Kurt Russell did a great job as the US hockey coach, Herb Brooks, who did whatever it took to bring a group of individuals together as one team, a team playing for the name on the front of the uniform as opposed to the name on the back. This is the kind of sports film that I will watch time and time again because it worked for me on so many different levels. The film had a few flaws here and there, but overall it is a good family film that everyone can watch, both adults and kids, and come away in a feel good mood.