Review of Miracle (2004) by Dane W — 13 Nov 2016

Nominated for the Best Sports Movie ESPY Award, "Miracle" is inspirational movie based on true events. Director Gavin O'Connor did an amazing job at finding actors to portray the coach and the players on the hockey team. Coach Herb Brooks, played amazingly by actor Kurt Russell, is called to coach the United States olympic hockey team. Composed of only college all-stars, Herb unites them against a universal foe: the USSR's hockey team. Coached by the infamous Viktor Tikhonov, the Soviet's team is intimidating and extremely talented. Overcoming several obstacles, the US team fights their way through the Olympics in their quest for gold, but the communist Russians stand in their way.

From a filmmaking standpoint, Dan Stoloff, the cinematographer, had some very creative camera movements. For example, he attached a camera to a person on skates in the hockey game which gave an interesting perspective. Dan also had an ingenious dolly movement to show Herb's emotions in one of the locker room scenes. John Gilroy, the editor did a satisfactory job of telling the story through smooth cuts and slow motion at just the right times.

My favorite character was Jim Craig (Eddie Cahill), because I can relate to him as a goalie and he is an essential character. Although sports movies are not usually my preference, this is a must-see. Since it is based on a true story, it is more believable than other athletic-based movies. Although I would not recommend this for children, because it has a lot of foul language and some thematic elements throughout, teens and adults alike will thoroughly enjoy this classic.