Feel good? By all means. Sappy? Not in the slightest.
“Miracle,” the cinematic saga of the U.S. hockey team’s improbable march to the 1980 Olympic gold medal, is two solid hours of riveting entertainment.
Of course, it’s a 2 1/2-hour movie, and thus probably a bit long; you find yourself wondering if they’ll ever get to Lake Placid, particularly during the Norway rink scene when coach Herb Brooks decides to punish their wandering minds with a postgame series of sprints that leads to massive loss of . . .
You get the idea. And the movie’s length is a quibble.
Kurt Russell has drawn well-earned raves for his portrayal of the maniacally driven Brooks. His charges are a fresh-faced collection of hockey players-turned-actors who skate well enough to render the hockey scenes entirely credible.
Mark Johnson’s tying goal, Mike Eruzione’s game-winner, Al Michaels’ signature call . . .
If you’re not tempted to leave your seat by those moments, you don’t remember what the world was like in February 1980.