Sporting events have that magic that we just cannot explain at all. Coming from the Ateneo, it sometimes just boggles us how sports events like the UAAP Men's Basketball can dictate the success or downfall of a school. If Ateneo wins, the whole school celebrates in giddiness and if it loses to its perennial foe, La Salle, people just feel like the world just ended and the whole school year a mess. We're pretty sure Lasallites feel the same way just reverse the circumstances. Miracle is a movie about the event dubbed as the "Miracle on Ice". Let us take a look how successful this movie was in portraying the joy, the sadness, the hardships and the triumph that athletes face everyday and essentially that magical feeling that sports competition can bring.Miracle is a portrayal and a look into how Coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) turned around the U.S. Men's Olympic Hockey Team into one of the worst teams into the best in just a few months and eventually beating out the Unbeatable Soviet Men's Hockey Team. The Soviets were the Olympic Champions since 1960 and during their run in 1980, they were unbeatable. The Soviets even played around with the NHL All-Stars beating them handily. The U.S.O.C. Hockey delegates were in deep desperation to turn around their team and so they enlisted Coach Herb Brooks due to his amazing record in the NCAA and the very radical approach he wanted for the Men's team. The U.S.O.C.'s goal is to eventually match or even beat the Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics. This was during a time deep in the Cold War and the U.S. in shambles as their Government was rocked with scandals like Watergate. The eventual game versus the Soviets proves to be more than a game as it is a reflection of the attitudes and the hope of two superpowers and maybe an eventual reflection of the final outcome of the Cold War.
For the movie itself, we really liked everything in it. This is probably one of the best sports movies ever made. It really captured the drama and the emotions entailed in coaching a team into success. Not only that, it also showed the hardships that players and coaches feel every single practice or every single game. As for the cinematography, the movie never became dull and void of life. Even the dramatic scenes were perfectly made that it did not bore the audience. You just have to watch how well made the hockey sequences were. Miracle is a must watch for everyone.
Rating: 4 and a half reels
Why you should watch it:
- a realistic look into the lives of athletes and much more importantly being a coach
- effectively brings the drama and tension of those times
- really exciting hockey cinematography
Why you shouldn't watch it:
- if you really hate comradery (are you even a normal, sane person?)
- seeing the U.S.A. triumphant in movies again (yeah, we are just that bitter :P)