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Murderball
ThinkFilm Inc.


9.0

based on 33 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 31 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA 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)

GENRE(S):	Documentary
DIRECTED BY:	Henry Alex Rubin Dana Adam Shapiro
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 29, 2005 Theatrical: July 8, 2005
RUNNING TIME:	85 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Audience Award and Special Jury Prize (Documentary), 2005 Sundance Film Festival; Golden Space Needle Award (Best Documentary), 2005 Seattle International Film Festival; Audience Award and Jury Award, 2005 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

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...

100

Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum

The filmmaking is as strong as the subject matter, with an elegant structure.

100

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

This is a lively, life-affirming documentary no viewer is likely to forget.

100

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.

100

Washington Post Desson Thomson

It's one of the most powerful films of the year.

100

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.

100

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Murderball is a paradox: a movie about quadriplegics that insists we look beyond their disability.

100

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.

100

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

It's the best sports documentary since "Hoop Dreams," a great piece of work."

100

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

Bracingly honest and ceaselessly compelling documentary.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

It's as full and rich a portrait of the lives of athletes as we've seen since "Hoop Dreams."

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Exhilarating.

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.

LA Weekly Scott Foundas

A great sports drama first and a heart-wrenching triumph-over-adversity weepie almost never.

Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten

Co-directors Rubin and Shapiro deliver the rare documentary that totally entertains, informs, and inspires.

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

Think "Mad Max" in wheelchairs.

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Murderball invokes fascination toward its protagonists, because it views them with the same confidence and acceptance they view themselves.

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.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Fast-moving, psychologically savvy.

Premiere Peter Debruge

Murderball asks you to put all your assumptions about quadriplegics aside and start over.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

It's original, outrageous and murderous fun.

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.

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.

Variety Robert Koehler

A blast and a half -- as entertaining as mainstream American docus get.

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.

Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust

A thoughtful and provocative look at a previously little-seen world.

Empire Steve O'Hagan

A leftfield sports documentary that's as insightful and thought-provoking as it is fast and furious.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

The emotional resonance that results from the focus on several unique individuals is what makes this a worthwhile viewing experience.

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.

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

Has a lot of integrity, both in visual and conceptual terms, and seamlessly blends entertainment and education.

Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern

There are worlds within the startling world of Murderball.

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.

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.

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.

The average user rating for this movie is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 31 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.

Murderball ThinkFilm Inc.

Murderball
ThinkFilm Inc.