The Mighty Ducks (1992)

The mighty ducks is arguably the greatest movie of all time. Action? You got it! Thrills? You bet! Epic showdown between the forces of good and evil? Artfully executed in the guise of children playing peewee hockey. This movie taught me lessons of life that I am proud to say I have already, and will continue to, pass on to my children! Quack! Joshua Jackson kills it as up-and-comer Charlie Conway learning from the master himself, Gordon Bombay (a dazzling performance by Emilio Estevez) who learns and even relearns a few life lessons of his own as he teaches a ragtag group of kids how to play the games of hockey and life.

Made in a time when comedies about kids and sports were probably among the most popular kinds of movies, The Mighty Ducks is the undisputed best of any of these. (Other favorites of mine include The Sandlot and Little Giants.) The plot isn't complicated, as many have said, Gordon Bombay is an overworked lawyer who gets a DUI charge and is given community service, coaching a kids hockey team of misfits. The difficulty in this is Gordon played hockey himself as a kid, and blew a championship game. Without giving too much away, Gordon teaches the kids hockey, and they teach him to not take life too seriously.What makes this movie special is really the portrayal of the kids. Sure they sort of fall in to stereotypes, the goofy fat kid, the short but tough kid, the misunderstood "bad" kid, the lovable and sweet underdog (Charlie Conway, played by Joshua Jackson, pre Pacy, although in the Ducks sequels you see shades of that character coming out!) but these characters feel real, and are very funny. I don't know if younger kids still watch this movie but if you ask any teenagers who Goldberg is you'll get a laugh and some fun reminiscing. Not to mention they often know the correct moments for quacking (not when getting yelled at by your principal!) All in all definitely worth watching, if only for a trip down memory lane!

Despite the tremendously clichéd plot--that of an aging fallen athletic hero who loses faith in himself and disinterest in the sport until he has the opportunity to turn a misfit team into a victorious one with hard work and much-needed nurturing--the Mighty Ducks is probably for those youngsters of the early 1990s what films like the Karate Kid were to those youngsters of the mid-80s. One of the classics, a guilty pleasure we secretly don't switch off when channel surfing on lazy weekend afternoons. One that marked early careers or more well-known stars today (with the most obvious being a prepubescent Joshua Jackson). For hockey fans alone, it may be enjoyable, despite hockey movies never being very inventive in the tell of the tale (see Youngblood and Miracle for other examples of the same old, same old). But nonetheless, it is still a valued time capsule and a feel good movie that yes, cheesy and clichéd and dated (no one really does much roller-blading anymore--see the practice scenes, can still be enjoyed.

No matter what people would say this movie is a classix it is the story about a man who forgot what sports all is about he is one day taken from drinking and driving and on that day he begins to wake up he had forgotten his past his memories because he would not open his eyes but then he gets a team an ice hockey team and well everything else you need to find out Emilio plays a really great and beautiful part in this movie and so does everyone else it is worth to see this movie and just do see Emilio play what he plays best hehe it is a funny and touching movie about opening a new chances in some ways well anyway what more is there to say then BUY IT SEE IT LOVE IT