The core story is about a guy with anger problems (which it is heavily implied are caused by his relationship to his abusive father) who was an extremely successful American player. He was dropped as he got older and resented it so much he coached the Canadians to beat up his new enemy, team America. Everyone seems to border on hating him, and the jibes about betraying his country clearly hurt, but he keeps going, driven by a desire to win, or as importantly for the other guy to lose. Poor Joe does beat the US but by then its too late, his anger and hatred have taken over and it doesn't seem that he takes too much pleasure from it. But its great to have a bad guy.
That narrative is somewhat of a sidestory from what is also a brilliant triumph of will against nature. The psychological device that is most appealing for those with recent injuries is that they have a "new body" and now need to find ways to use it. Sounds good in theory, but its empty until they meet Mark Zupan with his custom aluminium chair. He is happy to admit that frankly he achieved very little until he lost the use of his legs. Now he is a gold medal winning Olympian. He was thrown from the back of a drunk drivers truck (who wasn't even aware he was there) and had to cling onto a tree in a canal for 14 hours until he was rescued...amazing. The recently paralysed kids who meet him are struggling with something ridiculous, the loss of half of their bodies. But this tattooed nutjob who knocks other people from their wheelchairs as a hobby is their salvation; you can see their eyes light up.
The discussion of their sex lives is also brilliantly revealing. It's hardly a surprise that masturbation is one of the first physical skills they recover, but these guys are are nothing if not inventive in their approach to reclaiming their chest beating masculinity. Doggy style with ropes, brilliant. Giving oral seems to be a new favourite as well. They abhor pity and any implication they are "brave". For one, the idea of "special olympics" holds a particular stigma. But the major takeaway is how normal it all is once the specific physical problems are covered.
The 2012 London Paralympics did incredible things for the perception of Paralympic athletes, this film was a forerunner to that. "Differently abled" is a flawed concept, but after the initial devastation these are just normal people doing what they want to do, and doing it very well. No fear, no restraint. And it is easy to believe that while they have lost certain abilities, that hasn't reduced their general resilience and ability to take considerable punishment.
7 / 10