The Rocket

Before going to see this movie I read a review and it was less than flattering, but I still went to see it because I was in a hockey mood (play-offs and all). I have to say that reviewer had his head up his ass. I really liked this movie. Now I'll admit that it wasn't the best movie I've ever seen, but it certainly was enjoyable and worth checking out (though I suppose it's something that can wait until DVD).

Roy Dupuis was just frakking amazing. There's really little more I can say on that. I thought he was absolutely fantastic, and my father (who's a big Maurice Richard fan) leaned over half-way through the movie to tell me that he'd been cast perfectly. Good on you Roy, I hope you get an award (though, who are we kidding, it'll probably just be a Genie).

I also really liked the fact that they kept the French French and the English English (though being that I speak French I may be slightly biased. I hear some people were rather annoyed at having to read subtitles half of the time).

There were three things that kind of annoyed me about this movie. The simplest one was that I wish there had been more hockey, though I'm glad they didn't sacrifice the other aspect of Maurice Richard's life to show the hockey.

Another thing that annoyed me was Julie LeBreton. I'm not saying she was a bad actress, she was good, though all her role entailed was to look worried once in a while. My problem with her is that she looks 33 (maybe she is 33, I don't know) and the first time you see her in the movie she's supposed to be 17. Fuck! They should have hired someone who was 20 or something, then they could just age them through good ol' fashioned movie magic, because it really takes you out of the moment trying to pretend this woman is 16 years younger. For the record, I also know Roy Dupuis is far older than his role, but his acting was so amazing that I barely noticed it (and even then, only for the first five minutes).

The third, and final, thing was that I felt things weren't explained very well. For someone who doesn't know a whole lot about Maurice Richard, I found myself lost at a few scenes and it would take me a few minutes to figure out when it was and what was going on. Though this shouldn't be a problem for most hockey fans.
-LS