Murderball (2005)

Purely Joyful Movie!

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Quadriplegic athletes compete in a fierce form of rugby known as Murderball. Two rival teams from America and Canada respectively go head to head in Athens, Greece for the gold medal in a major championship match.Directors Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro vividly capture the amazing strength, humor, and humanity of a remarkable bunch of men who include the fearsome and aggressive Mark Zupan, the recently disabled, but determined Keith Cavill, the soulful Bob Lujano, easygoing blonde hunk Andy Cohn, likable Scott Higsett, and bitter Canadian team coach Joe Soares, who becomes a better and more caring father and person after suffering a heart attack. Moreover, Rubin and Shapiro show an obdurate and admirable refusal to sentimentalize their subjects: These tough, scrappy, and resourceful fellows elicit and deserve respect instead of pity for the courage and resilience they show in the face of adversity and offer proof positive that a disability can be effectively surmounted through sheer force of will alone. Better still, this film covers everything from the grueling training sessions to the brutal and harrowing games to the reality of these men's sex lives with refreshing candor and straightforwardness. An extraordinary testament to the triumph of the human spirit.

Quadriplegia proves only a limited challenge to the subjects of this documentary who compete in a version of rugby modified to suit wheelchair-bound players. The film offers an informative look into different types of quadriplegia and it is fascinating just how much the subjects are able to accomplish without full use of their limbs. The quadriplegics interviewed are generally upbeat individuals, happy to make light of their condition (one comments that another could fit into a box like Shaobo Qin in 'Ocean's Eleven' and then tests out the theory) while having the same basic dreams and aspirations as persons with full body control. Curious as all this is, the film never strikes a satisfying balance between being about quadriplegia, being about the sport and being about the therapeutic effect of playing sport. There is also a lot of US vs Canadian tension thrown in as the Canadian team's coach was formerly a US player, and this whole angle presents an unwelcome distraction from the overcoming adversity general theme of the movie. The aspects of the documentary that work well though linger in the mind long afterwards. The segments in which the quads talk about dating women who are too nervous to ask about their bodily functions are great and all the scenes showing the quads moving about independently are engaging as the film potently reminds one that life does always go on no matter what happens.

Words couldn't have described how I felt after I first saw this film. Grant you I had seen this picture a grand total of ten views of the amazing "Murderball" in one week and I thought to myself, "I don't see anyone bitching, moaning complaining or feeling sorry for themselves. I was amazed at the competitive wrath that these men show. Mark Zupan has to be the most intense man I have seen in sports with his will to surpass all obstacles and do it in a way where he can come back to earth and show such a shy side when introducing youngsters and newcomers to the sport. For every cocky arrogant and ungrateful athlete in professional sports where they don't get their million dollar signing bonus, each of those athletes should be shown this film and see how bad their life could be. Maybe then would they know what hard work and devotion is. Yet then again, maybe they might still not understand.

Murder ball was a good movie kept me watching, being a documentary and all. Was well written and portrayed. It was about quadriplegic playing quad rugby. It showed how many of them are quite good at playing. The movie portrayed their lives quite well with what they went through. Mark Zupan was one of the better players on the team. It showed about the Paralympics and how many people compete in games even after they have had accidents paralyzing them or causing them to lose function of there limbs. I think it's amazing how well they work with what they have. Being a documentary it was quite true to the fact it showed it "How it is" if you will. It shows how hard there lives can truly be and how they have many physical and emotional barriers that they have to overcome.