Miracle: A Student Review

Rating: 10/10 (17 February 2014)

The movie Miracle is much more than your typical American patriotism movie. With the stellar acting, and spirited directing, Miracle extends beyond the reach of inspirational films and into the realm of pure excellence. After watching the film, one is left with a feeling of great patriotism nationalism and belief in one's country.
Kurt Russell delivers the performance of his lifetime as he portrays Herb Brooks, a hard-nosed, passionate United States national hockey coach. Russell captures the character of Herb Brooks and develops his own passion as an actor. The active pacing back and forth and fast-paced and overdramatic gum-chewing helps Russell in fully becoming the head coach of the United States hockey team. One of Russell's most memorable scenes in the film is when he delivers a speech to the team when they are experiencing some adversity. Russell displays true acting brilliance as he is able to fully grasp the fierceness and desire for greatness that Brooks displayed when actually giving the speech. Even the casual viewer will feel the effect of this speech and feel that same desire for greatness in their own life. The constant action and dramatic moments of the movie will keep anyone on the edge of their seat and begging for more.
Complementing the impeccable acting by Kurt Russell and others is the determined directing of Gavin O'Connor. Mr. O'Connor makes it much more than just a sports film about an average hockey team that rises to glory. He uses the historical events of the time to show how Americans can rally behind a cause, even when times are tough. The way that O'Connor is able to portray the struggles of a young team on their Olympic journey depicts perfectly the way Americans were struggling as a country to combine as one in their Cold War pursuits against the Soviet Union. O'Connor incorporates real-life events all throughout the film. This includes the way that the film begins with a brief historical year by year review and news clips with current events of the time scattered in. The current events that are displayed in the film really help to make the viewer feel that the film is more realistic and are instrumental in conveying the common themes of patriotism and extreme nationalism.
Contributing to the overall greatness of the film is the dramatic scenes involving the trials and tribulations of representing one's country on the world's grandest stage. One scene in particular that I will choose to focus on is the semifinal game against the Soviet Union. The United States had been embarrassed by this team in the past as the Soviet Union were in a class all to themselves. Being a young, inexperienced team, the US was a major underdog in this matchup. After coming together as one, UNITED team, will the Americans be able to match the Soviets in strength and speed and beat the greatest team ever assembled? My all-time favorite part of the movie is when Al Michaels coined his famous phrase, "5 seconds left in the game, do you believe in miracles?! YES!" As an avid wrestler, I often used mental preparation as a big part of my success. Before every big match that I ever had, and I mean EVERY big match, I would watch Miracle in its entirety. The feeling of great inspiration and drive for success that I got after watching this film made me feel as if I could accomplish anything I put my mind to, a feeling that is exactly what Gavin O'Connor does such a remarkable job conveying. Well done Mr. O'Connor, well done.