Worth Seeing If Only For Kurt Russell's Performance

Rating: 8/10 (23 April 2004)

My Rating: *** out of ****.
If anyone wants to watch something uplifting, Miracle will certainly do the trick. While watching the film, I found it impossible not to like it. This is a well-made film that is a definite crowd-pleaser.
The first thing Miracle has going for it is Kurt Russell. Russell has had an uneven resume and from what i have seen, this is easily his best performance(although I have yet to see Dark Blue). Russell's performance as Herb Brooks is compelling and intense; it's one of the best performances I have seen this year.
No one else in the cast comes close to Russell's performance. The actors who play the hockey players are effective because their not well-known (I heard they were hockey players but I'm not sure). However, Patricia Clarkson (who did nice work in Far From Heaven)is only adequate as Brook's wife.

The director, Gavin O'Connor, deserves a decent amount of credit. The climactic game is brilliantly filmed. The other scenes on the ice are also compelling. The only time the pacing actually seems off is in the beginning and the scenes between Brooks and his wife.
Miracle is definitely a film worth seeing. Like I said, it's a film that is hard to dislike. Miracle is just an uplifting experience.