Miracle

This film is rescued from being just a piece of rah-rah chauvinism by placing it firmly in its historical context, and by Kurt Russell’s excellent performance as Herb Brooks, architect of one of the biggest sports upsets of all time, the gold medal won by the American hockey team at Lake Placid in 1980 against a Soviet team that was basically the best the Red Army could provide. If a pick-up college all-star team had whipped the New York Yankees it couldn’t have been more unlikely. I hate hockey, the only team sport where you’re given a weapon. I can’t ever tell what is going on. This film performed the large miracle of keeping me knowing what was happening at all times.