Predictable sports movies are fun; Cinderella sports movies accurate down to exact shots, blocks, and body checks are few. Director Gavin O’Connor casted hockey players who could act in the reenactment of a ragtag bunch of college hockey players facing off against - [/and defeating] - the juggernaut Soviet Red Army hockey team in the Lake Placid 1980 Olympics. The attention to recreating game details was religiously observed in this heart-stopper.

Inserts of news events going on at the time are well done, Aerosmith’s “Dream On” a brilliant choice, and the close the film incorporating the real players a final delight. Kurt Russell as coach Herb Brooks is masterful.

Another refreshing aspect of this film is that it’s an accurate portrayal of an amazing accomplishment by white guys in a white sport. The film respects this by not queering it, coloring it, PCing it, or preaching hogwash about violent sports being a crypto-fascist metaphor for war.

Yes, it really happened this way. Yes, you should believe in miracles.