You Ess Eh! You Ess Eh!

Rating: 7/10 (18 July 2008)

I don't like words like genius or miracle. Yet to my disdain these are popular words that get thrown around with reckless abandon. These days practically everyone with a pulse is a genius and anything remotely positive ends up labeled a miracle. I suppose we need something to believe in in these days, so it shouldn't come as a surprise hyperbole is becoming as common as hybrids on our roadways.
Nobody wants to believe in miracles (or geniuses) more than Americans and if there aren't any immediately available, then why not revisit the past where the almighty red, white and blue shone like a blinding beacon of hope. No bigger evil comes to mind (with heartfelt apologies to terrorists) than the big red evil of the former Soviet Union and there's no better metaphor for winning the Cold War than beating those damn Russkies on a frozen sheet of ice where men do battle with skates and sticks. Yes I'm talking about hockey and if the Americans know one thing about hockey that would surely be that they beat the Commies at the 1980 Olympics (and went on to win the gold medal). In fact, I think it may very well be the only thing Americans know about hockey.It may be almost 30 years since the Team U.S.A. underdogs pulled off this major upset, but calling hard work, orchestrated team work and a refusal to quit a miracle is the equivalent of calling Gavin O'Connor's Miracle a masterpiece. Masterpiece status aside, the on-ice action is exceptionally well shot, with an incredible attention to detail and authenticity. Perhaps the best things about this movie is the director's decision to cast real hockey players in all the major roles, all of whom not only do an impressive job of acting, they also take on the brunt of all the stunt work.
Typical of the sports melodrama genre, Miracle suffers from a few too many moments of pulled heart strings. The one trick O'Connor goes to too many times are the telegraphed reaction shots of secondary characters in the crowd. Annoyingly, Goaltender Jim Craig's father gets so many of these shots you can't help but pray for a deflected puck to pluck him in his sickingly over expressive face. On top of that, O'Connor makes an odd choice of closing the movie with an overly weighty voice over from Russell, a choice that practically undermines the relatively straight faced restraint characteristic of the rest of the movie. All in all, this is an entertaining movie, especially for hockey fans. A miracle? Not quite, but definitely something worth cheering about.
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