Murderball





Darn good documentary.

Excellent documentary. I wouldn't say there weren't points that dragged a bit, and several scenes made me shudder, but this documentary worked by being non-invasive. Unlike my all-time favorite docs Spellbound, Hoop Dreams, and Thin Blue Line, Murderball feels less orchestrated, less political, and has subjects that will be both appealing and put-offish for the audiance. They talk about things I'm not interested in, I didn't like how one guy acts towards his kid. I loved how one guy was with his girlfriend, I was sad when one guy fisrt gets injured and is depressed. Oddly mundane experiences of the day-to-day that take on a humanist element by way of docuemnting these athletes who refuse to stop being physical when they had enjoyed it in their past, or hoped to be so in their future.

A-

Didn't like it. I wasn't prone to believing wheel chair bound folks as incapable before now so it really didn't register with me that this was an overarching message that "had to be learned".

It's essentially a movie about assholes, doing prickish things. OH AND THEY ARE IN WHEEL CHAIRS. Got it.

What a wonderful surprise, I loved it. Probably the best documentary I've seen since Bowling For Columbine.

A/A-

Pretty good, but it's got a little too much of that MTV style incorporated into the storytelling that can be pretty noticeable and detract from the realism. The story of Zupan is pretty compelling stuff, and is handled well along with the rest of the stories of the members on the USA team. It's when the movie dwells from that central point that the proceedings get a little too theatrical, exaggerated, and two-dimensional to be taken all that seriously. The opposing team Canada coach is essentially made out to be a villain who goes from horrible bastard father to the greatest father in the world after his heart attack. I'm willing to accept that something as traumatic as a heart attack is going to stir some life changes within an individual, but the black/white contrasts between then and now were too stark to be believed. The man himself is pretty interesting by himself, and I wish they hadn't removed a bit of his character to fit the archetype the movie had in store for him. The other major plotline is about a recently handicapped bike rider, who eventually develops an interest in wheelchair rugby himself. Parts of the story are gripping, but it feels a bit out of place with everything else and a tad manufactured when it came to tying in the wheelchair rugby. It just doesn't pack as much of a punch as the rest of the story.

But I digress, as it's really a great documentary. It moves along at a brisk pace, and gives us a real insight into the lives of these people, and the process they've undergone as a result of their accidents. The scenes involving Zupan and the best friend who caused the accident that led to his handicap are quite emotionally powerful, as the irony of the situation and the still unresolved pain from the incident make it a very intriguing and deep aspect of the story. Also, despite the simplified and exaggerated nature of it, the scenes with the Canadian coach and his son are quite memorable and captivating as well. And as for the actual wheelchair rugby games, they're shot very well and can become quite intense to watch as the stakes get higher. You feel the joy with a win and the hurt with a loss as the people experience it themselves, that's how effective the movie is at getting you to connect with the story and the people. anyway overall I'd give it a B+, definitely worth checking out but not without its flaws.