Rating of
1/4
Sociopaths on Skates
Andrew - wrote on 06/03/12
As a long time lover of hockey and having played the game myself, I was looking forward to watching Slap Shot. Several of my former hockey buddies raved about it, so I figured I would give it a shot. Needless to say, I was terribly, terribly disappointed.
The story? Well there really isn't one. Seeing how much violence you can pack into a two-hour movie does not make a plot. I understand that minor league hockey was quite violent in the 1970s, however this film is simply over the top. I knew this film wasn't going to have an accurate depiction of the game, but it was simply lacking in laughs, something I thought it would contain. It is vicious, violent, and reduces hockey players to the level of neanderthals, something that I found insulting.
There is no real character development in the film, and the Hanson brothers are simply sociopaths on skates. We have no idea why they are such weirdos and why they insist on causing egregious bodily harm to others. The only sympathetic character in the entire film, Ned Braden (Michael Ontkean) undoes his generally competent performance with his farcical antics at the end. In short, this film is just plain stupid.
