This is one of the best sports films ever made in my opinion. It tells the underdog story of the US Olympic team against the Russians in 1980. Anyone who was alive and awake at this time remembers what a stunning upset that was and for the fact that it was against our biggest Cold War adversary at that time. Even if you didn't follow sports or the Olympics, it was impossible not to hear about it.
The film shows the realities of coaching a team. Not much coddling or favoritism going on here. Teams are a Team not a bunch of separate individual personalities which is part of the coaches main strategy: they must learn to work as a team and not a bunch of 'All Stars.'
Patriotism is a strong point but not overwhelming. Coach says at one point, "The name on the front on your jersey is way more important than the name on the back" at a time when he was trying to emphasize that being a part of the USA Olympic Hockey Team was more important that any one player alone. Many Olympic athletes today should learn that lesson instead of acting like they are the most important humans on Earth and that the USA doesn't matter- even though the USA trained them and provided for them to compete at that level.
The action is great and the actors can really skate. I recommend this film to anyone. This is one of the best Disney films to ever come out... before they started putting out so much PC garbage.
The film shows the realities of coaching a team. Not much coddling or favoritism going on here. Teams are a Team not a bunch of separate individual personalities which is part of the coaches main strategy: they must learn to work as a team and not a bunch of 'All Stars.'
Patriotism is a strong point but not overwhelming. Coach says at one point, "The name on the front on your jersey is way more important than the name on the back" at a time when he was trying to emphasize that being a part of the USA Olympic Hockey Team was more important that any one player alone. Many Olympic athletes today should learn that lesson instead of acting like they are the most important humans on Earth and that the USA doesn't matter- even though the USA trained them and provided for them to compete at that level.
The action is great and the actors can really skate. I recommend this film to anyone. This is one of the best Disney films to ever come out... before they started putting out so much PC garbage.