Somehow it worked

Rating: 9/10 (7 February 2004)

The acting, Kurt Russell notably excluded, was not good. The direction was average. The script was a little better than average. The story was--true though it was--the archetypal "Cinderella story" and there were no surprises--through that story pattern and the fact that we all know what happened in reality.
But during the game, I was on the edge of my seat and gripping the armrests and after the film ended, I left the theater walking on air. I can't figure out what the filmmakers did right, but somehow this movie got a little bit of what "Rocky" got entirely. "Rocky" had a surprise at the end, great acting overall (Don't knock Stallone for that one--save that for "Judge Dredd" and "Demolition Man.") and a very well-written script, but there's something extra to it that pushes it to its brilliant level. Somehow, we feel for Rocky Balboa in a way that we do not feel for all Cinderella stories. Somehow we connect and that's where the film's power lies.
"Miracle" did the same thing, but just lacked the technical feats of "Rocky." I could complain about the poor acting of most of the players, the silly switching between new Al Michaels commentary and old that was very obvious (his voice sounded totally different), the smarmy story, and a dozen other such things; but movies are about experiences and I had a great experience. No, it's not "Rocky"--but it's not "The Mighty Ducks," either. It's more on a level with "Rudy," another great sports Cinderella story, because I can't explain how it worked, but it did. There were people in the theater clapping and cheering during the game as though we were watching it live--proving to me that it is true that you can't get a film's full experience without being in a theater.
One small detail about this film that impressed me, though, was its portrayal of the Soviets. They aren't evil robots--when we see them after they lose, there is a respect in their eyes that we never see in film portrayals of Soviets and there is a great respect shown between the two coaches every time they interact (though just with their faces). The Soviets are humanized much more here than I expected and I think that humanity was part of the film's ultimate strength.
Kurt Russell was excellent as well. I couldn't help but think, "Snake Pliskin as a Canadian hockey coach? How is that going to work?" but it did.
I haven't seen him do much, but I hadn't really thought of Kurt Russell as a serious actor--so his excellent performance caught me by surprise and got me caught up in his character, except for the scenes with his wife, in which she was written and played so badly that it became embarrassing. A perfect example is when she and he have a fight while he's watching game film. The fight is stupid and unbelievable and we can't see any emotion in her, but then after he returns to watching film and we see him sitting alone, Russell manages to create a moment that most actors would kill to get--and it's all in his eyes.
There may not be much to this film, but it's certainly worth seeing. There are laughs in the right places, there's an excellent performance by Kurt Russell, and there's a purely upbeat storyline--just don't look for anything more. Don't expect "Citizen Kane" and you won't be disappointed.