Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Hockey Culture: The Rocket

The Rocket (2005)
A quick word:  The Bruins are off and instead of just lazily posting a bunch of links to stuff I found I'd like to instead do some reviews of stuff in Hockey Culture.  Without further ado, here is my review of The Rocket:

The first thing I came away with after watching The Rocket is the quality of the hockey action.  All of the on-ice scenes are beautifully shot, giving you what feels like an authentic look at the period.  One of the most jarring sites (besides goaltenders without masks) is the chain-link fence as a backstop, and the complete lack of glass along the boards.  Truly, a different arena.  And a different game.

The movie follows the rise of Maurice Richard, who despite all odds against triumphed into a truly dominant player.  He did of course play for the Habs and this is a Bruins-centric blog...but history is history.  Habs still suck and all, but I liked this movie in the same way I liked Miracle.  It's a feel good sports drama.  They beat the odds, take all comers, and beat the russians.  Er...anglophones.  

Yes, the cultural enemy in this movie is, well, the coach and the faceless league.  Plus, Vinny Lecavelier plays Jean Beliveau and Patrick Roy produced.  As sports dramas about hockey go, this is a good one.  And the hockey action is top notch.

Plus, Sean Avery plays "Killer" Dill.  The perfect role.  Apparently the New York tabloid the next day ran with the headline DILL PICKLED.  But I've said too much.  Go check out this film, you will not be dissapointed.

One final note, on the dubbing:  Yes, the radio guy is tremendously overdone.  However, most of it is pretty good...or good enough.
 
GO BRUINS!

1 Comment:

jamestobrien said...

Yeah, I honestly think "The Rocket" should get a little bit more love from the hockey nerd kingdom. Some cool little visual effects for what seemed like a pretty low budget movie and a solid if unspectacular movie all around.

Glad to see I'm not the only person who enjoyed that.