Miracle
The word “miracle” gets bandied about quite a bit, particularly in sports. But since no one has turned Gatorade to wine lately, I’m a bit loath to call anything in sports a miracle. But is there a 50-something sports fan alive who doesn’t remember The Miracle On Ice, the pivotal sports moment of the last 30 years? America hated itself, we had hostages in Iran, and the Red Menace seemed to be winning the Cold War. A few slapshots later, and we skated into the self-adoring, patriotic ‘80s. Team USA battled the unbeatable Soviets in hockey at the Lake Placid Olympics. That event has been faithfully chronicled in the movie Miracle, starring Kurt Russell as enigmatic coach Herb Brooks, who assembled the team of Davids to face the USSR Goliath.
ClearPlay In Action!
About 30 profanities and a lewd reference are trimmed in the ClearPlayed version of Miracle. You don’t have to be a hockey fan to like it, and kids should enjoy its underdog theme.
Do you believe in Miracle?…
As Al Michaels might say, “Yes!” Miracle does a great job setting the stage for the crucial game, from its “history of the ‘70s” montage under the opening credits, to Brooks’s acquiescence that the Olympic battle was more than just a hockey game. So what if you go in knowing the ending? That didn’t hurt Apollo 13 or Titanic.
Marty Nabhan—ClearPlay Goalie
Rated PG for language and some rough sports action; 135 min; Directed by Gavin O’Connor
Miracle
It was more than a Hockey Game
It was a tumultuous time in the world as well as in the U.S., with oil shortages, a poor economy and political discord, U.S. hostages in Iran, and the Soviets invading Afghanistan; America needed something to cheer about and an unlikely man from St. Paul, Minnesota was about to deliver America that shot-in-the-arm. Miracle tells the true story of the 1980 Olympic Hockey team in an era before “Dream Teams” took over. Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell), a former player turned coach, pushes his players to limits they haven’t been pushed to before, in preparation to take on the best hockey team in the world, the Soviet Union.
As a fellow Minnesotan and Hockey fan I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie. The dedication these young players put into the game despite the pressure on their shoulders was inspiring. My Dad always said growing up “When there is a will there is a way” and that is what these young men proved. Kurt Russell does his best to lay on a thick Midwestern accent, is that how we really talk? Yeah, you betcha it is. Sports fans or not this underdog story can be appreciated.
Motherly Advice: Miracle was made even better with the assistance of ClearPlay since it was mainly language and blasphemy that needed filtering. Of course a movie about hockey is going to a have a fight on the ice or two which it did but nothing graphic or bloody. The young players drink alcohol in a couple of scenes but the overall feeling of the movie is done in good taste and safe for the family to watch. It is a great film about a triumphant moment in our history.
h4>Movie Mom- I definitely believe in Miracles!Rated PG for language and some rough sports action; 135 min; Directed by Gavin O'Connor