Review of Big Miracle (2012) by John B — 04 Mar 2013

Big Miracle is the true story of 3 whales trapped beneath ice in the far north of Alaska and the rescue efforts to free them. With the temperature dropping dramatically by the day, the window of opportunity for them to reach open water closes.

Movies like this are a dime a dozen but very few of them are genuinely good. Big Miracle, in my opinion, belongs with Free Willy, Eight Below and Dolphin Tale as one of the better true story wildlife family-friendly rescue films.

I already knew that it starred Drew Barrymore but watching it I was surprised at how many other credible players were in the movie including; Ted Danson, Stephen Root, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson and Kristen Bell (tho she's not too credible).

The film avoids a lot of "awww" moments and does play out as a straight drama with only a few stodgy Hollywood cliches. Having read about the true story I am satisfied that Big Miracle offers an accurate enough account of events and this is solidified by actual footage during the closing credits.

The only thing that REALLY pissed me off was Drew Barrymore's bleeding-heart Greenpeace character... you want to thump her but in reality, this is how her real life counterpart was and so the film can't be faulted for that.

This is a great movie for the family and a definite recommendation.