Wonderful character development!

Too much about the plot just didn't add up, the writing was bad, some of the scenes were cringey and awkward,

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Quadriplegia proves only a limited challenge to the subjects of this documentary who compete in a version of rugby modified to suit wheelchair-bound players. The film offers an informative look into different types of quadriplegia and it is fascinating just how much the subjects are able to accomplish without full use of their limbs. The quadriplegics interviewed are generally upbeat individuals, happy to make light of their condition (one comments that another could fit into a box like Shaobo Qin in 'Ocean's Eleven' and then tests out the theory) while having the same basic dreams and aspirations as persons with full body control. Curious as all this is, the film never strikes a satisfying balance between being about quadriplegia, being about the sport and being about the therapeutic effect of playing sport. There is also a lot of US vs Canadian tension thrown in as the Canadian team's coach was formerly a US player, and this whole angle presents an unwelcome distraction from the overcoming adversity general theme of the movie. The aspects of the documentary that work well though linger in the mind long afterwards. The segments in which the quads talk about dating women who are too nervous to ask about their bodily functions are great and all the scenes showing the quads moving about independently are engaging as the film potently reminds one that life does always go on no matter what happens.

The power of the mind is an amazing thing; for those possessing it, no obstacle is insurmountable; but for those lacking it, any roadblock is deterring. Fortunately, the subjects of the documentary "Murderball", are blessed with the former. It's just as well, as they are all quadraplegics.The participants featured (Mark Zupian, Joe Bishop, Andy Cohn, Scott Hogsett, David Willsie) all play "Murderball", otherwise known as Wheelchair or Quad Rugby. While there are no rucks or mauls to be seen, Murderball instead features the finesse and skill of basketball, and the brutality of Ice Hockey or American Football.With four players per team on court, they combine to transport the ball over the opposition's goal line, with each goal worth a point. This documentary focuses on the USA and Canadian teams; starting from the 2002 World Championships in Sweden, where Canada defeated the USA 25-24 in overtime (ending their run of eleven consecutive championships), and to the lead up of the 2004 Paralympics in Greece. These two dominant forces eventually meet again in the Paralympic semi-final, with the winner advancing to the gold medal playoff, while the best the loser can hope for is an inglorious bronze. The USA and Canadian teams have held a long and bitter rivalry, especially considering Bishop (a victim of childhood polio) after playing in the USA's 1996 gold medal triumph in Atlanta, was cut after a loss of form, then defected to take up the Canadian coaching job. Accused of betraying his country, Bishop shows no remorse for his decision, but, ifanything, renewed hatred for the United States. Having led Canada to a dramatic World Championship victory, then losing by a goal in the Paralympics qualifying tournament, Bishop is desperate to defeat the USA again. In other hands, "Murderball" could have been an overly sentimental film. While themes of self-belief and courage upon adversity resonate, it's done in such a matter-of-fact way, that it doesn't feel preachy. The closest the film gets to sentimentality is in recounting Zupian's accident, injured in the back of a pick-up truck by his friend Christopher Igoe, who was drunk at the time. After long periods of avoiding each other, Zupian and Igoe eventually make up. While it could have been easy for Zupian and company to succumb to a life of self-pity and financial handouts, they prove they're just as tough, if not tougher, than most able-bodied athletes. They talk frankly about their accidents and attempting to resume a normal sex life. This comes across in the Murderball matches themselves. The on-court brutality is magnified by the fact, having been to hell and back, the players have no fear about getting injured.The great thing about 'Murderball' is it avoids the usual emotional manipulation of most films about serious disabilities in favour of a more grounded view. That alone is worth watching it for.

If, like the rest of us, you spend most of your time pissing and moaning over the seeming unfairness and petty inconveniences of everyday life, I suggest you check out "Murderball" for an immediate attitude readjustment. This fascinating documentary will put all of that stuff into perspective for you, while entertaining the hell out of you at the same time.Played on a regulation-sized basketball court (minus the baskets), Murderball is actually a slang name for Wheelchair Rugby, an international sport in which quadriplegics use their specially armored wheelchairs almost like souped-up bumper cars to score goals for their team. The film concentrates, primarily, on the intense and sometimes downright vicious rivalry between the team from the United States and the team from Canada. The movie makers introduce us to about a half dozen players, each of whom, even in the few moments afforded him on screen, becomes a distinct personality with a history to relate and a story to tell. The two main focal points are the charismatic and muscular Mark Zupan, and Joe Soares, one of the legendary pioneers of the sport who left to coach for Canada after he was cut from the American team. Many of the most incisive scenes deal with the ribbing, some of it good-natured, some of it not so good-natured, that Soares has had to endure over his decision to defect to the opposing side.Although the rugby scenes themselves are gripping and thrilling, the real drama occurs off the court in the men's personal lives, as we see the struggle and heartbreak the men go through, the strength and inspiration they exhibit for the rest of us, and, most especially, the camaraderie and team spirit that comes with working together to achieve a common goal. As the film-making crew follows the men around through the course of their daily lives, we get to know them as complex individuals, finding out how they ended up in a wheelchair and seeing how each was able to rise above the experience to get to where he is today. The film neither sugarcoats the difficulties of their lives nor asks for our pity. It simply presents the men to us, in all their virtues and flaws, and asks that we listen in on their stories. Some of the most poignant moments involve Soares having to come to terms with having a son who has little or no interest in sports, preferring the violin instead.Kudos to directors Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro for their fine work on this film, especially Rubin, who also provided the stunning camera-work for the scenes on the court. But most of our thanks should go to the men of the film and their loved ones who were willing to open up their lives to us in so vivid and honest a way. This is an inspiring and heartwarming film - the final scene is of some of the men introducing the sport to a number of injured Iraq War veterans - that will stick with you long after the closing credits.

This is a surprisingly emotional film - especially when you consider that the protagonists are a group of surprisingly macho guys. Their main qualities are extreme competitiveness, irony, and loads of dark humor that would make a lot of "normal" people cringe.I, however, LOVED this movie . . . and I'm a non-athletic, flabby, able-bodied, middle-aged, Midwestern housewife! I would hang out with these guys any day of the week.I found myself tearing up quite often during the film, especially the sequences concerning Joe Soares. I don't admire the route he took (a lawsuit) in dealing with his personal disappointment over being cut from Team USA, but I came to greatly admire his tough exterior and (subsequent to his heart attack) his tenderness with a son who couldn't be more UNLIKE him. Speaking of Joe's son: I have to take issue with a previous reviewer who referred to the boy as "effeminate." The boy is simply not athletic, that's all. He's not FEMININE, for heaven's sake! And I think Joe would probably be the first one to pound the sh*t out of anyone who said so.The filmmakers did a great job of illustrating that these quad athletes (and by association, ANYONE wheelchair-bound) live lives as full - if not fuller than - the average able-bodied person, including dating and sex. I thought adding the material concerning the particulars of how quadriplegics go about having sex was interesting and quite brave. It's a subject a lot of filmmakers would have - and have in the past - shied away from. This aspect of the movie brought me closer to the guys, rooting for them to find love just as I would for any other young, virile man. And I'm not talking just about the 'Hallmark card' variety of love, either. Frankly, I just wanted them to - you know - "get some."I found myself screaming at the TV during the rugby matches, and I hardly ever do that during the regular Olympics. I wasn't screaming and crying because of some kind of misplaced admiration for what these men have overcome - but because of the sheer level of fierceness in their hearts and just how much THEY wanted to win. Too many able-bodied, international-level athletes get caught up in the hoopla, the glory, the money, the mega-ego of it all. The quad athletes depicted in the film have their hearts and souls in the exact right place. They're in it for a pure love of the game. They want to move, they want to feel their blood pounding in their ears, they want to feel ALIVE. And they are. Oh, they really ARE.I didn't want this film to end. I wanted to follow and cheer on these men and their friends/families right up to . . . this very minute.I will be adding this DVD to my library as soon as possible. It'll take an honored place up right up there with my all-time favorite documentaries."Murderball" is a MUST-SEE for anyone looking for what's best in our all-too-human natures.