In American sports, we love to see the underdogs emerge victorious. But this time, in the 1980 Olympic Games, America was the underdog.

Gavin O’Connor’s Miracle depicts the story of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team and their unexpected victory over the Soviet Union, a seemingly unbeatable force to be reckoned with. Nobody could beat the soviets, nobody could even come close to competing with them.

However, amongst the growing Cold War tension and struggle, somehow, someway, coach Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell) was able to lead his team of underdogs to the top of the podium.

Coach Brooks is the lead role of the film, as he should be. This man was able to successfully dethrone the kings of international hockey with a team chalk full of college kids who had their minds set on settling old rivalries. Coach Brooks brought the team together, as one, to represent the United States of America, and the boys didn’t disappoint.

The players are pushed to their absolute limit by Coach Brooks, who challenges the boys to be “uncommon men.” In order to beat the Soviets, the boys had to do the unthinkable, which is exactly what they did.

The turning point of the movie was the scene (shown above) with Mike Eruzione, the first player to realize they were a part of something more than themselves. It was from then on out that the players put their past aside, and started to work together as a team.

As previously mentioned, the movie is right around the time of the Cold War, so tensions were high between Americans and Soviets. However, O’Connor doesn’t overplay the historical or patriotic aspects of the film. Even though both aspects are clear and evident in some parts, Miracle is, first and foremost, a hockey movie.

In order to fully grasp the game scenes, you must follow hockey. The majority of the movie is watching the team come together, with very few extended game scenes (barring the Miracle on Ice game against the Soviets).

This might be rough for those who don’t follow hockey too well, but that’s what hockey’s all about: team chemistry and fast-paced, in-your-face-yet-graceful action.

Regardless of your thoughts about the sport, Miracle is a movie for anyone. The message behind the film outweighs any negative thoughts about hockey, and leads the viewer from start to finish. Is Miracle one of the best sports movies of all time? Probably not. But man is it great to see us “beat those commie bastards.”