That said, however, I was not to impressed with the film myself. Sure, it is all nice and dandy that the "good" guys beat the "bad" guys, and this Goliath figure is slain, but, what about the actual story? What is entertaining about watching a movie where you already know the ending? Everybody knows that the US won, they kicked butt, and the Soviets had no idea what was going on. With this knowledge, there is no way to pull off a properly suspenseful ending, which is what Miracle tries to do. The movie simply tries to pull off the impossible.
Even though I think that the movie is a bit of a bust, I am astounded by the quality of the acting. Russell plays a very convincing Brooks (who, for the record, died during pre-production and consequently the movie is dedicated to him). From the attitude, the look, and even the mannerisms, Russell nails his part perfectly. Patricia Clarkson plays a perfect Patty Brooks, and pulls out the emotion that is needed for her character. Along the same lines, all of the skaters are perfect, as they show the emotion, desire, and frustration that hockey players often feel.
Finally, I really believe that Al Michaels, the announcer at the actual games, outdoes himself in the film. He recreates all of the calls, commentary, and cheers of the game, except for the iconic ending shout, which is the real one call from 1980 -- the directors thought that not even Michaels could recreate that emotion.
As for the Blu-ray quality itself, I am slightly disappointed. I expect Disney to pull out all the stops, and make all of their transfers look stunning and flawless; such is not the case in Miracle. Instead, Miracle looks like a good standard DVD release, or a really poor Blu-ray one. The colors are muted, the darks are shallow, and the film is actually a little grainy.
Even though they mess up on the image quality, Disney knocks the sound right out of the park. One can hear everything, from the whispers of discontent, to the individual voices of the fans, without any issue. Every time the puck flies past the screen, or is sunk in the net and the lamp is lit, One hears it fly around the speakers. It is perfect and drew me into the movie. Frankly put, the surround sound made me feel as though I was at the rink.
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