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Murderball

Universal acclaim
Based on 33 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 32 votes
Read user comments
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Movie Info
Genre(s): Documentary
Written by:
Directed by:
Henry Alex Rubin
Dana Adam Shapiro
Release Date:
Theatrical: July 8, 2005
DVD: November 29, 2005
Running Time: 85 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for language and sexual content
Starring Keith Cavill, Joe Soares, and Mark Zupan
Featuring fierce rivalry, stopwatch suspense, and larger-than-life personalities, Murderball is a film about tough, highly competitive quadriplegic rugby players. (ThinkFilm)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The filmmaking is as strong as the subject matter, with an elegant structure.
Read Full Review >Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
This is a lively, life-affirming documentary no viewer is likely to forget.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
Murderball brilliantly captures the intensity of the little-known athletic competition, offering more intimacy and drama than most Hollywood sports movies.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
This is one of those rare docs, like "Hoop Dreams," where life provides a better ending than the filmmakers could have hoped for. Also like "Hoop Dreams," it's not really a sports film; it's a film that uses sport as a way to see into lives, hopes and fears.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ty Burr
Murderball is a paradox: a movie about quadriplegics that insists we look beyond their disability.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Peter Hartlaub
If you're the type who doesn't go to art-house films , Murderball should be your exception. It's hard to imagine anyone could walk away from this movie disappointed.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
It's the best sports documentary since "Hoop Dreams," a great piece of work."
Read Full Review >Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach
Bracingly honest and ceaselessly compelling documentary.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
It's as full and rich a portrait of the lives of athletes as we've seen since "Hoop Dreams."
Read Full Review >Dallas Observer Robert Wilonsky
One of the most remarkable things about Murderball, which is easily among the year's best movies, is how little of its time is filled with the playing of the game.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Scott Foundas
A great sports drama first and a heart-wrenching triumph-over-adversity weepie almost never.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Co-directors Rubin and Shapiro deliver the rare documentary that totally entertains, informs, and inspires.
Read Full Review >Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez
Murderball invokes fascination toward its protagonists, because it views them with the same confidence and acceptance they view themselves.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
When it comes to sports movies, there's nothing like the real thing, and there's never been anything quite as real as the documentary Murderball.
Read Full Review >Premiere Peter Debruge
Murderball asks you to put all your assumptions about quadriplegics aside and start over.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Tasha Robinson
Along the way, Murderball surpasses the typical who-will-win sports-film dynamic and becomes a fascinating and personal exploration of quadriplegia.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Jeremy Mathews
Murderball isn't a documentary played in the key of those Olympics stories that inspire you with sugary drivel, although it is ultimately inspiring.
Read Full Review >Variety Robert Koehler
A blast and a half -- as entertaining as mainstream American docus get.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
The evenness of its emotional pitch almost incidentally helps the film become an unusually deep exploration of sports, machismo and the competitive spirit.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
A thoughtful and provocative look at a previously little-seen world.
Read Full Review >Empire Steve O'Hagan
A leftfield sports documentary that's as insightful and thought-provoking as it is fast and furious.
Read Full Review >ReelViews James Berardinelli
The emotional resonance that results from the focus on several unique individuals is what makes this a worthwhile viewing experience.
Read Full Review >The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey
Reportedly, after seeing the film, rapper Eminen is anxious to play a wheelchair athlete in a coming movie.
Read Full Review >Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
Has a lot of integrity, both in visual and conceptual terms, and seamlessly blends entertainment and education.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
There are worlds within the startling world of Murderball.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Ken Fox
The film is filled with humor, compassion and cajones, and never once glosses over the fact that these guys are prickly personalities who can sometimes act like jerks. There are also a few tears, but remarkably, not a single one is shed in pity.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Mark Holcomb
What keeps Murderball from devolving into redemptive drivel is its insistence on treating the players it profiles as jocks first and disabled men second.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer Bill White
As a sports documentary, Murderball is tame and uninvolving. It does however, offer a hard-edged and unsentimental portrait of strong-willed people.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 32 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Bit B. gave it a9:
Rented this one the other night...what an awesome documentry! Go Canada Go!
Preston F. gave it a10:
Up lifting yet gritty.
Dan C. gave it a10:
A film filled with amazingly strong, vibrant personalities who are thrill to watch on the screen. At turns highly moving, funny, and dramatic, without ever being sentimental. These guys would be interesting no matter what they were doing, period. The wheelchairs are incidental to who they are, which is the real magic od the movie.
Wm L. gave it a10:
This movie works so well on several different levels. I can't imagine anyone not enjoying it. But it did not do all that well in theaters, possibly because of the action-movie sounding title. So rent it soon before it vanishes.
camden l gave it a9:
Great documentary.
jake k. gave it a10:
Super good.
Mark M. gave it a10:
The cliche is true for this one--"I laughed, I cried." There are some awfully funny moments in this movie, what with the larger-than-life personalities being profiled and the combination of frat-boy sense of humor and honest forthrightness of the players. The crying part was just embarrassing, if you see the movie you'll know what scene I'm referring to, it tugs full force on the heartstrings while being a totally genuine moment. The use of Ministry's "Thieves" on the soundtrack could not be a better choice, I don't know if a more "aggro" song exists. The editing is such that it's hard not to feel just a bit manipulated, but even so this one's a 10. The film's subjects and their lives are too interesting and thoroughly examined for it not to be.
