The Miracle Match (2005)

This film is a joke!

This movie is sooo ridiculous! It's interesting to note that only the game
the U.S. was able to win at that 1950 World Cup is the main focus of the
film. The accomplishment of the United States is much less fantastic if
it's taken into account that the U.S. lost the rest of their matches after
getting lucky enough to defeat England in that one game. After defeating England, the U.S. still was eliminated in the first round of that World Cup. And Joe Gaetjens, the man who scored the only goal for the U.S. in that game, wasn't even an American citizen! November 17, 2008

Soccer in the USA

Great movie, it shows perhaps one of the greatest upsets in the history of World Cup competition. October 25, 2008

The brave ones!

Entertaining film about a great sport, soccer, which I am sure America is enjoying more and more! Choosing amateur players (please correct me if I am wrong) mainly from the city of Saint Louis, the USA takes to the 1950 World Cup in Brazil a team which the mission of going to take part in the championship, but they are really good players, and the own actors know how to do it, mainly Gerard Butler as the goalkeeper! There are some scenes filmed in Brazil and for the people who are fond of this sport, it is really thrilling as you become a real supporter of that 50's brave team! October 23, 2008

Can we do it? Yes, we can!

My title line should not be a spoiler: "Can we do it? Yes, we can!" If so, the movie title is a spoiler: "The Miracle Team"! What do "miracle teams" do? They come from the underdog position to win!

The cobbled team of St. Louis-New York players won the World Cup in the 1950 Championship game against the world's best team and best player in a 1-0 victory. How did it happen? How could this major sports upset even conceivably take place? After try-outs, two weeks of practice, and personal, ethnic, religious, and regional clashes of differences, the team finally jelled, even during the game for this sports coup.

Do you know the applied meanings of Apollonian and Dionysian styles of doing things? The New York team was Apollonian--structured, intellectual, controlled. The St. Louis team, comprised of Italians from the famous Hill area, was Dionysian (think god of wine)--loose, fun-loving, instantaneous.
The two styles were a major conflict. New York was led by a man of German-descent, Walter Bahr (some of these men from St. Louis had served in World War II). St. Louis's leader, Frank Gorghi, was the go-to guy in leaving words of wisdom and guidance, while Walter was a cool, calculating, but also wise leader. The two were able to work together and make the team eventually click. Going against the manager's decision, they went as a unified front to convince Joe Gaetjens, an African player attending school in America, a natural athlete, and later the soul of the team, to play.

Breaking elements down:

PRO:
1. Considering that the movie was made by the same people making HOOSIERS and RUDY, both exciting sports movies, this movie was criticized for lacking that same excitement. I found the championship game most exciting and was on my feet cheering most of the time!

2. A major point is that the story was made into a movie enjoyable to watch, good for a family entertainment. Maybe another group later can remake it to include what other reviewers saw as weaknesses.

3. Only two actors' names stand out (Gerard Butler and Patrick Stewart). I liked the use of little known or unknown actors. It makes the viewer not single out favorites to watch. I know Gerard Butler is getting to be a big name now, but not at the time the movie was made.

4. The film looks professional. It is not an embarrassment for the celebration of this major American sports event or the players.

CONS

1. Lack of character development. There was enough for the viewer to get a working knowledge of each one's background or some little aspect of his character, but not enough.

2. What happened to the players after this major game? Viewers always want this information just out of curiosity. Did the game change them? Not change them?

3. One reviewer criticized the use of the sports reporter narrating part of the story to give background and explanations. This technique is not an uncommon use of characters. I saw nothing wrong with it. It gave a Greek chorus kind of narration.

Overall, "The Miracle Match" is a highly satisfying movie. I watched it a second time recently and discovered to my major surprise that I immensely enjoyed the movie much more this time. At the first viewing, I was not really into watching soccer.

This is a great movie to watch on July 4th, or in celebration of the American spirit to win at all odds, just like the revolutionists did in 1776. That was a miracle match, as are the teams in this movie. Both times the Americans defeated the British!

July 15, 2008

The Miracle Match

..."The Miracle Match" is another Gerard Butler film that i purchased in order to get a closer look at this amazing actor's theatrical range--i was quite please...very credible acting on all who participated in this film--i just couldnt get into the actor that played Patrick Stewart's part as a younger man...but other than that,the performances were natural and a compliment to the men being portrayed...and although there were other "big name" actors in this film, everyone is on the same page in making the viewer believe this larger than life piece of sport history...there wasnt a whole lot of unnecessary "lets just focus on this one or that one", just a simple formula of how a group of friends beat the odds of being labled not good enough...and that my friend, was good enough for me... December 29, 2007

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