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Big Miracle

Release Date 10 Feb 2012 TBA

  • User rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.
  • Critic rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.

  75% of raters want to see this movie

Certificate: PG

Genre: Drama | Romance

Inspired by the true story that captured the hearts of people across the world, the rescue adventure Big Miracle tells the amazing tale of a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle. Local newsman Adam Carlson (Krasinski) can’t wait to escape the northern tip of Alaska for a bigger market. But just when the story of his career breaks, the world comes chasing it, too. With an oil tycoon, heads of state and hungry journalists descending upon the frigid outpost, the one who worries Adam the most is Rachel Kramer (Barrymore). Not only is she an outspoken environmentalist, she’s also his ex-girlfriend. With time running out, Rachel and Adam must rally an unlikely coalition of Inuit natives, oil companies and Russian and American military to set aside their differences and free the whales. As the world’s attention turns to the top of the globe, saving these endangered animals becomes a shared cause for nations entrenched against one another and leads to a momentary thaw in the Cold War.

Cast:
Drew Barrymore | John Krasinski | Kristen Bell | Dermot Mulroney | Ted Danson

Writers:
Jack Amiel | Michael Begler

Producers:

Directors:
Ken Kwapis

  • Critic rating
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.

Movies.ie Critic Review

BIG MIRACLE (USA/PG/107mins)

Directed by Ken Kwapis. Starring Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski, Ted Danson, Kristen Bell, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson.

THE PLOT: Alaskan TV news reporter Adam Carlson (Krasinski) finally finds a story worth reporting when three gray whales become trapped beneath the ice, their oxygen supply running dangerously low. Not only is his news footage Adam’s big-break into national news (including the towering Tom Brokaw), it’s also noticed by his ex-girlfriend, Rachel (Barrymore), an environmental activist. Naturally, she’s soon by Adam’s side as the community, and the news crews – and even nasty oil barons looking for a little greenwash - rally round to help in the rescue…

THE VERDICT: This had all the signs of being a cornball stinker – a feelgood romance set against the true-life 1988 rescue of trapped gray whales; yowsa! – but, somehow, Drew and crew deliver a film that doesn’t make you want to go and punch a dolphin in the face. And it’s not like the director, Ken Kwapis, has form when it comes to spinning turds into gold, he and Barrymore having worked before on the painful He’s Just Not That Into You. In the end, the day is saved by a cast who more than rise to the occasion, and a backstory that, at heart, is a true ice melter. Even for a cynical old critic like me. RATING: 3/5

Review by Paul Byrne 

  • Avg User rating
  • Currently 2/5 Stars.

User Reviews

    • Currently 1/5 Stars.

    Onionhead

    It is a laborious, sentimental drama featuring a self-parodic performance from Drew Barrymore, based on a TV news event that briefly gripped the US in 1988.

    • Currently 4/5 Stars.

    dainiux

    Genial feelgood story inspired by a true story that made headlines in 1988.

    • Currently 4/5 Stars.

    mart

    This is, well, huge. This 'little story,' which occurred in 1988, is made all the more real by clips of real film footage and TV newscasts from that era. 'Big Miracle' refers, of course, to the immensity of the story and its main players - three whales.

    • Currently 2/5 Stars.

    mell61

    Not a bad movie, just not memorable 1 day after viewing. Not a story I was aware of, although apparently based on this movie it was the only thing the world was talking about at the time!