6.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Hockey great Gordie Howe retired after 25 winning seasons with the Detroit Red Wings. But he realized that retirement just didn’t work for him. When his sons were drafted to the Houston Aeros he came out of retirement to join the team. He was written off by many who thought he was too old to be playing competitively.
Starring: Michael Shanks, Kathleen Robertson, Lochlyn Munro, Emma Grabinsky, Ali TatarynSport | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English SDH
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy (as download)
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Mr. Hockey is a production for The Hallmark Channel, which first aired the film in Canada on April 28, 2013, with a U.S. broadcast premiere the following week on May 4. With necessary concessions both for dramatic purposes and for Hallmark's family-friendly programming (never were rinks and locker rooms such curse-free zones), the film tells the true store of how legendary player Gordie Howe, so thoroughly identified with the sport that he and his wife, Colleen, became universally known as Mr. and Mrs. Hockey, retired from the National Hockey League (or "NHL") in 1972 after twenty-five years of professional competition, all of it with the Detroit Red Wings—but then shocked the world by coming out of retirement after two years. He continued playing until 1980, when he retired again at the age of 52. (Although it isn't covered in the film, Howe again came out of retirement briefly at the age of 69 so that he could play one shift with the Detroit Vipers in 1997 and be able to say he played professional hockey in six different decades.) With a script by Malcolm MacRury (who has written for Deadwood and Earth: Final Conflict, among others) and direction by Andy Mikita (a producer and director for the multiple Stargate TV series), Mr. Hockey is more of a family drama than a sports movie. Hockey fans may be disappointed that there isn't more footage showing competition on the ice, but the film focuses primarily on the Howe family, which was both a major factor in, and was significantly altered by, Gordie Howe's decision to resume his professional career. The film is dedicated to Colleen Howe, who passed away in 2009 at the age of 76, and who is depicted as being every bit her husband's match in toughness and endurance.
Mr. Hockey was shot by James Alfred Menard, another Stargate veteran. Although definitive information about the shooting format was not available, it has all the earmarks of digital photography, which has become the most common format for today's TV productions. The image on ARC Entertainment's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is typical of capably produced television fare, in that the image is clean, well lit, reasonably detailed and free of noise or distortion. The color palette runs toward the cool end of the spectrum, even in the Houston scenes where everyone talks about the heat but you don't feel it in the image. The film's brief 86-minute running time is easily accommodated on a BD- 25, even with nearly a half hour of HD extras. No artifacts or compression errors were noticeable. I must add that there are a few sections that use archival video or newsreel footage. These only look as good as the source will allow.
The Blu-ray's lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 is a typical TV mix: front-oriented, with sparing use of the surrounds and priority given to dialogue. Even the hockey scenes don't take much advantage of the 5.1 array, keeping the sonic activity in front, including even the cheering crowd. The serviceable score is by James Jandrisch (16 Wishes ).
Long-time hockey fans will bring their own memories and opinions to Mr. Hockey, and their response to the film will depend on pre-existing attitudes toward the events depicted and the subsequent development of the sport. Newer fans may be sufficiently intrigued to investigate this colorful bygone era when some of the sport's enduring legends made their name. Either way, be sure to stay until the end, when director Mikita switches to footage of the real Howe in 1980. The continuity is a testament to how effectively Michael Shanks has embodied "Mr. Hockey" at an earlier stage of his career. Recommended.
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Brother's Keeper
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