Murderball

Sweetness. This has all the great hallmarks of a great movie: out-STANDING characters, great soundtrack, great settings and an incredible story to top it off. It has the added bonus, natch, of being TRUE... all these things plus it's a documentary. I got pumped up for the games, but like any great sports movie, the characters have emotional stories and backgrounds; these are more fascinating than anything I've seen on film. In a usual sports flick, there are athletes who have to overcome the usual: obsessive parents, crazed coaches, scholarships, whatever. These guys survived car accidents. Fist fights. Blood diseases. Their stories are as fascinating as the sport they play, and the filmmakers know it. An emotional ride, all ends of the spectrum. Searing insight into the lives of these athletes, and those close to them, as well as Quad Rugby ("It was called Murderball, but you can't really market 'Murderball' to corporate sponsors"). Great subject and great film-making, the brief flashes of other athletes in other sports at the Paralympics only made me want to know more. Which is what a great film should do.

Quad means FOUR. These are Paraplegics (paralysis of legs and lower body). The web site and press for this movie constantly repeats this falsehood. Christopher Reeve was a Quadriplegic. Watching quadriplegics plan rugby would really be something. Think of a group of men (or women) controlling their chairs a la Christopher Walken in "Suicide Kings" by blowing on a tube. Watching paraplegics was interesting. But it is fundamentally wrong for this film to be marketed as "Quadriplegic rugby players". I think the story is an arresting one, but I am astonished that such an obvious falsehood could be repeated over and over without challenge.

Here's why you will be glad that you chose to see Murderball: This is a movie about real people, real obstacles, real emotions, and you are there, watching these real people, as they go through their real life failures and triumphs, but in a compact single dose. Unlike reality TV, with Murderball there's no script or re-takes, just true grit and heroism. Anyone who loves sports such as football, basketball, or rugby should really see Murderball because it's got tons of action. Murderball itself is a sport that borders on combat during every play of every game. The guys in Murderball are tough, rugged, world-class athletes, fighting and winning, and you've got a court-side seat for every minute. Murderball is an incredible emotional rush, and you will come out high on life! You finish watching Murderball, and you come away with this feeling that you, just some average person, have the ability to overcome whatever life throws at you. Be prepared to have your perceptions blown apart for something cooler than you could possibly have guessed. Why wouldn't you want the feeling you'll get after watching Murderball? To summarize: inspiring, cool, and very right now. Go see Murderball.

this movie does what the best documentaries can. it gives us access to a part of our world that we do not see enough or do not look at or for enough. and our world is full of people like us, mostly good people doing our best and trying, always trying and never giving up. and this is a movie that celebrates us while it celebrates the people in it and what they have done against really tough odds. the guys in the movie are just like us they, just trying a little harder and they could have given up long ago but didn't. and this film helps me a little bit. it gives us a perspective which we would not otherwise have. it seeks truth as good art must and it finds little shreds of it which i, for one, am always hungry for. i highly recommend this movie. i may only watch documentaries from now on. well, anyway, i may try to watch less crap.

This movie was so much more well rounded than I expected. They did an excellent job delving into the lives of some very unique players--beginners, veterans, and new players. I was surprised to discover MTV had a hand in making this film, I can't recall the last movie they made that turned out well but they really hit one out of the park this time. Full of drama, comedy, and action this movie really has it all. I particularly enjoyed the developing relationship between Joe Soares and his son Robert. This was hands down the best movie I've seen all year. A nice treat at the end is the song "Light and Day/Reach for the Sun" by the Polyphonic Spree, you'll remember it from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

My vote is AWFUL not so much or the film - which is quite good, but the appalling way the distributor has flushed this film down the toilet. Let's take stock - the film receives 100% rave reviews, plays every major film festival - and then tanks on opening weekend - a misread? I doubt it. ThinkFILM has simply does not have the "Harvey" touch - everything they touch turns to crap - this film was a shoe in - but the marketing and spin was DEAD wrong - you never make the wheelchair the hero in the campaign - WRONG - no one will come see a film about a wheelchair - case in point - BORN ON THE FOURTH OF JULY, COMING HOME - Jesus - how stupid are these think film people - they didn't even show Ironside in a chair in the promo spots. I feel sorry for the director of this solid film - he trusted a company that buried their last ten films - The Assassination of Richard Nixon, Tell Them Who You Are, Being Julia, Going UpRiver, Last Mogul, Kontroll, Festival express, Gospel of John and many others - Sad. Where is Harvey when you need him to save good films from amateurs. This was DOA with ThinkFilm

This recent documentary about quadrapalegics playing a violent form of rugby never found its expected audience. It was expected to be a breakout hit of last summer and was even released under the MTV Films label. It was eclipsed by last summer's surprise hit doc "March of the Penguins." Is it any good? The scenes in which we follow the players in their day to day lives are great. One portion of the film follows a recently paralyzed motorcross racer and his excitement in discovering the sport. These moments are touching, inspiring, and the doc's best moments. The sport, though, is either filmed poorly by the directors or its just not that exciting. These moments are reminiscent of Oliver Stone's football scenes in "Any Given Sunday"--I can see a lot of bodies of banging together, but don't ask me what the heck is going on. It appears that who ever has possession of the ball is likely to score meaning that winning the game comes down to having the ball in the closing seconds. As a sports doc, it falls short. It greatly succeeds, though, in exploring the lives of the athletes. Recommended. Read more at http://solipsisticblog.blogspot.com/.

While the movie was supposed to focus on the game of Murderball it totally missed the boat as far as the reaction to the devastating aspects of waking up to discover that you suddenly are a totally helpless quad. I would like to hear what people who work in the rehab field have to say about the movie. I feel that it only exacerbates a violent approach to living life. Moving from being a football player, a hockey player or a motor cycle racer; all sports that require a high level of violence with the message kill your opponent. We are at war because our leaders are convinced that we must win at all costs in Iraq and Afghanistan when there is absolutely no way that we can. If we continue with that philosophy we will be there forever and the terrorism will only increase.

I saw this film at the recent FullFrame docs fest in Durham, NC. It is a genuinely good film. It is not your stereotypical physically challenged individuals story. In fact, at times, these guys seem like thugs who would spit at you if you asked them if they needed help crossing the street. The subplots are also very compelling, including the man whose drunken driving caused one of the men to go into a wheelchair talks about the deep guilt he feels. And, my personal favorite subject is a man who 'defected' to Team Canada after being cut from the American wheelchair rugby squad. The movie also reminded me of the British series (which was remade here) "Robot Wars," except that this time, humans are involved! I could have done without knowing intimate details of the men's personal lives (how many people really want to know how they have sex?), but all in all, it is a very good film which captures the emotions of the people involved as well as the spirit of its sport. Neither of which are easy to do.

Having seen one of the most brilliant documentaries several years ago called Hoop Dreams, I though there could be nothing that could even come close to its raw passion and emotional power. After witnessing Murderball, I realized I was wrong. This documentary that follows a select group of quadriplegic athletes provides just the perfect amount of tension and joy, as witnessing the former trials of Arthur Agee, and William Gates and family in Chicago. Some background is given on the sport as to how it's played (no less ironically on a basketball court), but Murderball's greatest asset is the depth in which it probes the players backgrounds and challenges, and our understanding of what it means to be in a chair (more than likely) the rest of your life. Like Hoop Dreams, it isn't the games or the run up to the championship that becomes the most exciting part (as great as that may be), but is found in the little moments when a father makes an effort to be at his sons recital, an old friend comes to watch his buddy at the paralympics in Greece, a recent quadriplegic first gets into a "mad chair" for the first time, or a group of players confront a former coach and mention his "treasonous" grounds. It is the access the filmmakers have gotten to not just film games, but to be at the right place at the right time in these players lives. That is what separates a brilliant documentary from just a good one, also the filmmakers and distributors have believed in this film, and it contains some very slick production work to boot. In the end, the audience for the most part who will be watching this as able bodied people, will come out with a sense of glowing pride for these athletes who play this crazy (perhaps) insane sport. This movie more than anything is about EMPOWERMENT, and the drive that succeeds in us all. When you watch these people in action you suddenly even begin to question how much you shouldn't complain about the everyday nuisances compared to what these players deal with on a regular basis. It breaks down the barriers we people have towards individuals in wheelchairs to realize, that you know these people aren't always reflecting on what happened in their life as a lost chance, that they are okay, and more importantly you know what.. some of them may dam well be real jerks, but you know what.. that's okay too. But by golly, don't you dare even feel for sorry for them, just be glad that if you have a Zupan, Bob Lujano, or an Andy Cohn in your corner you may just have one of the coolest friends on the planet, and be a lucky person indeed. Cause for the most part they probably stand taller than you in every way. Rating 9 out of 10