The Brighton Miracle

I'm a big fan of that great romantic hero, the underdog who overcomes the odds and the obstacles to achieve the goal, to emerge victorious.

In that sense, The Brighton Miracle certainly does not disappoint. Still, that's not enough to warrant a 10/10 rating.

What I found to be unique, artistic, edgy and utterly creative was the way they blended the real world people with their dramatized versions, especially the most challenging: Eddie Jones and Michael Leitch. The movie moved seamlessly between the brilliant acting of Temuera Morrison and Lasarus Ratuere, and the commentary of their real life counterparts, slaughtering yet another sacred cow of cinema (the other sacred cow that was recently slaughtered was that of mixing real actors with animated characters). That wasn't just true for those two; the entire supporting cast made me a believer in the exact same way.

Conceptually, I "knew" when I was watching an actor act and speak lines vis à vis when the "real" person was sharing their commentary. At the same time, however, on a much deeper level, I was always aware, I always recognized that the persona I was watching in either case was one and the same. They merged to form something greater than logic: Myth.

That, in my opinion, is the measure of a true work of art. 10/10

As a kiwi I knew who Eddie Jones is and to be fair wasn't a big fan from seeing him in the news over the years. This doco changed my mind what a great leader and coach. You don't have to be into rugby to enjoy this ride/movie. I found it interesting and inspirational. Temuera Morrison did a good job on playing Eddie Jones.

I'm not a big rugby fan and I loved it. The word, "inspirational" is getting thrown around here in the reviews, but there's a reason for that! It's a David and Goliath story for sure, but it's not done in a hackneyed way. This is no Bad News Bears story, or even some predictable "plucky little guys slay monster" story. The movie revolves around a hard-nosed coach who know how to push his team to their limits and exploit their own strengths and the weaknesses of their opponents. Even knowing the end result, I was still on the edge of my seat throughout the climactic game at the end. I loved getting to see some of the real players and participants. I'm looking forward to watching it again.

Absolutely brilliant, moving and inspirational. Probably now the greatest rugby movie ever made, pushing Invictus into second place IMHO. Masterful portrayal of Eddie Jones & Michael Leitch in particular. The real Eddie & Michael and other Japan Rugby personalities pop up throughout the movie to add extra authenticity and poignancy in relation to the match story and their own personal journeys.

I'm a rugby fan and Eddie is one of the more interesting individuals in sport so I enjoyed it somewhat anyway. But I didn't think it was really that well scripted and I thought it was odd that there was no mention of Eddie's wife and daughter. He was 55 when that all took place and yet they concentrated entirely on his parents and their influence. Overall it was a bit clunky and obvious. Kind of TV movie stuff.