This is the Rocky of Hockey, with a better ending yet!

Rating: 10/10 (1 February 2004)

9 / 10. This is the Rocky of Hockey, with a better ending. Tampa hosted a sneak preview. The line to get in was long, akin to the Saturday matinee lines I remember from the 50s. Miracle gives you more value for your movie dollar than any alternative playing today, if smiling all the way home is a goal.
Ironically, Miracle underscores that hard work, discipline, focus and `wanting it badly enough' is what it takes to win - everything EXCEPT a miracle in fact. Super stars - the most talented - aren't the ingredients that get the job done. Unification of the human spirit - developing the will to win - is by far the more important element.
Kurt Russell is brilliant. Patricia Clarkson (wife) peppers sage advice that influences Herb's thinking and his evolution as a coach. Listen to her words. The team members were unknown actors (to me). But just as they were the right players for the team in Brooks' view, every one was the right actor for the film.
The demand for Herb Brooks' autobiography will skyrocket. This is a man of vision, whose mind records an opponent's vulnerability so that he can compete and win against it. He has this innate understanding of how a coach molds solid individual talent into a team . . . a family. Every smart CEO across the land will use metaphors and clips from this great film to inspire their corporate personnel to go and do likewise. I know this because it happened with Hoosiers; Miracle is Hoosiers-on-steroids (quite possibly the most inappropriate sports simile ever written :-).
The hockey play is superbly choreographed. The psychology of the game - as well as the heart and mind of the player - is explored in depth. You can't help but learn the mechanics of the game along the way. Whether a current hockey fan or not, you'll better understand the game two hours after the the film starts, an unintentional benefit.
This film made me 'prouder YET' to be an American. To live in a land that produces the likes of Herb Brooks and this caliber of cinderella team. My blood was pumping. I suddenly wanted to be in better shape; vowed to be more focused on goals in my own life. I knew these games occurred many years ago, but the movie made me feel like it all happened yesterday.

Don't exit too quickly unless knowing what the players are doing now is unimportant. Go see it the day it opens and pass the buzz.