Quartile rating: 7/10 · 2 ratings
When college coach Herb Brooks is hired to helm the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, he brings a unique and brash style to the ice. After assembling a team of hot-headed college all-stars, who are humiliated in an early match, Brooks unites his squad against a common foe: the heavily-favored Soviet team.
Miracle follows the well-worn sports underdog formula closely, hitting every expected beat from the early humiliation to the triumphant climax. The plot is competent but predictable given its genre. Kurt Russell delivers a strong, committed performance as Herb Brooks, elevating the material, though the supporting cast of young players is thinly characterized. Cinematography is serviceable with decent hockey action sequences but nothing visually distinctive. Novelty is low — it is a straightforward by-the-numbers sports biopic that offers little beyond the genre template, even if it executes it solidly. The ending earns a top mark: the Miracle on Ice game itself is genuinely electrifying, well-staged, and emotionally resonant, benefiting enormously from the weight of real historical events.