Review of Big Miracle (2012) by Mark K — 10 Feb 2012

This film was better than I expected---or had read about from other reviewers. I didn't know the story, nor did I realize how big an effort was made to save a few whales(a mom, a dad and a child) in Barrow, Alaska back in 1988(during the whale migration season).

The three whales had unfortunately gotten trapped beneath the chilling Arctic ice, and called upon locals of the area to come out and do whatever they could to keep them alive. Whether you're one who cares to see a few whales saved, at any cost, or if you don't care at all, in the end, minds and feelings can be changed by the ever-growing situation at hand.

After days passing of continuous efforts to keep holes open in the ice to allow the whales to surface and breathe, hope seemed to fade by the dropping temperatures that reached 50 below. These temperature drops caused the holes to freeze over---trapping the whales inside once again.

Anyone who knows anything about whales, knows that just like humans, they can't breathe underwater. They periodically swim to the surface to take a big breath before diving back down... An Alaskan news reporter stumbled upon the whales, just days before he was set to leave the northern state.

He hadn't had much luck with any groundbreaking stories before this, and who can blame him(he lives in such a cold wasteland, where few people live---so not much is going on). He wishes to become a big news reporter at a major news station, but he's currently stuck doing small local reports, including one that deals with a Mexican restaurant up in Barrow, Alaska(the most northern Mexican restaurant in the world, I'm guessing).

For the locals who live there, it's breaking news, but to the lower world, it's nothing more than a quick story-filling time-slot. Adam Carlson(John Krasinski) is the news reporter who discovered the whales.

He gets help from his ex-girlfriend Rachel Kramer(Drew Barrymore), an animal-loving volunteer who works for Greenpeace(a company that tries to stop oil drilling in the Alaskan state and surrounding waters).

She seeks help from oil drilling company owner J.W. McGraw(her foe in real life---but an ally for this situation), to ask him to use his barge to help break away the ice and make a path for the whales to swim out to open waters.

At first, McGraw is the typical oil man who wouldn't help her kind out, but once realizing his options, he decides to help---and later feels it was a good conscious decision. This story gets bigger and the rescue mission become bigger as well, as it goes along.

This story ends up going national, and dozens more news reporters flock to the small town, trying to be the first to break the newest updates in this indulging story that has captured the attention of many Americans.

We hear Ronald Reagan speaking to workers at one point, thanking them for what they're doing, so you can tell how big this has gotten. In the end, even the Russians come in and help out, which reminds us that even those who wish not to involve themselves in the beginning, sometimes have a change of heart.

.. It's a touching story, realizing that these animals can die at any minute, and their lives mainly rest on the endless efforts of us humans, who are working to set them free. A movie with a setting like this is always at least worth watching just from the amazing landscapes of Arctic ice and blue ocean waters alone, but since the acting and story were also good(if you're a fan of John Krasinski or Drew Barrymore), it certainly makes this movie worth a couple viewings.

It also adds to it, from the feelings of joy we get once we see those whales finally set free and the locals cheering for their own hard-working accomplishments. If you don't care for this type of story, then you'll probably want to skip it, but if you are a sucker for a good heart-warming tale, then you should definitely check this out.