Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

The acting in this movie is really good.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Many sports fans today recognize the nickname "The Rocket" and probably only think of Major League pitcher Roger Clemens. However, long before Clemens was "The Rocket" from Montreal.This movie is a nice tribute to him - Maurice "Rocket" Richard - one of the greatest professional hockey players of all time. A lot of people - especially in Quebec - still think he's THE greatest of all time. Those kind of things are always up for debate and there is no answer who is the greatest, but Richard's career numbers certainly rank him as a leading candidate for that honor. For many years, the National Hockey Leauge had just six teams and played 50 regular season games. Richard was the first to score 50 goals in 50 games. He also was on eight Stanley Cup championship teams, including five in a row.His statistics go on and on but it was Richard's heart, his determination to succeed under adverse conditions and, finally, his stance in sticking up against the bias against French-Canadians in the NHL, that brought him "icon" status in Quebec. He is truly a "legend" in his country and probably will be revered forever in Montreal.How much of this movie is fact, and how is fiction, I can't say. If you know movies, you know that many times a lot of it is made up for dramatic purposes. Yet, I think most of it here is pretty much on the money. I'm not sure about the riot scene because I think the movie infers that people rioted because of Maurice's big suspension.but, according to the report below, the riot occurred thanks to the league president attending a playoff game in Montreal following his disciplinary action.This is from the Wikopedia: "On March 13, 1955, Richard was given a match penalty for engaging in a fight with Hal Laycoe in a game against the Boston Bruins. He flattened Linesman Cliff Thompson in the resulting mêlée, and as that was his second attack on an official that season alone, a hearing was held: Richard was suspended for the balance of that season and the playoffs, which was at the time, the longest suspension for an on-ice incident in NHL history. Public outrage from Montreal soon poured in, but NHL President Clarence Campbell did not budge, and announced that he would be attending the Canadians' next home game against the Detroit Red Wings in four days.Midway into the first period, Campbell arrived with his fiancée. Outraged Canadians fans immediately began pelting them with eggs, vegetables, and various debris, with more being thrown at him each time the Red Wings scored as they built up a 4-1 lead. The continuous pelting of various objects stopped when a tear gas bomb was set off inside the Forum not far from where Campbell was sitting. The Forum was ordered evacuated and Campbell ruled the game forfeited to the Red Wings. A riot ensued outside the Forum, causing $500,000 in damage to the neighborhood and the Forum itself. Hundreds of stores were looted and vandalized within a 15-block radius of the Forum. Twelve police and 25 civilians were injured, and scores of people were arrested. The riot was over at 3 a.m., and left Montreal's Rue Ste-Catherine a mess."Whatever, the movie overall is entertaining and gives a good insight on what Richard and his peers went through in a biased NHL at that time. The film is as much about the prejudice as it is a biography of Richard. The only drawbacks I saw were wooden acting in some spots, too much dumb dialog and some of the action scenes which didn't look as real as it could have been. However, this wasn't a mega-bucks production, so I didn't expect it to look as such. I was very impressed, however, with the wonderful photography in here. That looks big-budget, all the way. Kudos to the cinematographer.It was fun to see hockey players playing the game as they did in the "old days," wearing no helmets and face-masks and not a whole lot of padding. If you think hockey is a rough sport now, you should have seen it back in Richard's day. You can an idea watching this movie. There are some brutal scenes on the ice. Seeing Richard punching the referee was worth the price of the rental alone! If you're a hockey fan, or a sports fan who loves history, you have to check this film out. Why it took several years to hit the video shelves, I don't know.

The story is very interesting and it was definitely a good idea making a movie out of this man's life - unfortunately, the movie does not do "The Rocket" justice. Many interesting facts or ideas are not followed through - every time you think that there's finally going to be something explored in more depth, the movie moves on to something else; and it's a pity. For instance, Maurice Richard's relationship with his brother-in-law isn't very clear. His brother-in-law appears quite often in the movie, but it is not quite clear why that is the case. He is always asking for better tickets for the games, and that's it. He never seems to get them, but we are never told why, or why this should be relevant to the movie. There is also a very short passage about gambling, but nothing comes of that either. Same thing with Richard's children. And what is probably the most important subject of the movie, the oppression of the Québécois in their own province and in Canada in general, falls completely flat. Hardly any context on this highly sensitive and political issue is given, and it is not clear whether Richard's actions did anything to improve the situation; it would have been nice to get a bit more information on that count. All in all, it is a very superficial movie, which is a pity because the subject-matter could have been used in such a way to make a very good film.

"The Rocket" was superb. Canadian filmaking at it's finest (another great recent example is Cronenberg's "A History of Violence"). The hockey legend was played to perfection by a stoic Roy Dupuis. And Dick Irvine's coach was anything but cliché. If you liked "The Rocket" you'll probably enjoy reading Quebec author Roch Carrier's biographical look at Maurice Richard and the Quebec he lived in entitled "The Rocket". Carrier, who penned "The Sweater" ("We were five Maurice Richards") and a quote from whom appears on the Canadian $5 bill, writes a thorough history of Richard, the Habs during his reign there and splatters the background with the tumult of the Quebec people over nearly 50 important years.The movie ranks No. 2 amongst all hockey films, with "Slapshot" undeniably in the No. 1 spot. The list drops off dramatically after that.

Well done! The Rocket was a true inspiration to many and an icon in Canadian history. The NHL and Canada has changed in many ways since his playing days. This film biography inspires us to relive the past and to press forward in our own lives everyday. With a heart as large as the whole province of Quebec his courage was his most valuable asset. His passion to succeed was undeniable. The more popular he became through hockey the greater a threat he posed on the others that couldn't control him or french minorities. Yet, the legend was also a gentleman, a father and a role model for anyone who was fortunate to be in his presence. The film expresses all of this beautifully with an original feel and amazing on ice reenactments of famous games. Thanks for the film and thank you Mr. Richard.