Cubussoli Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Humbersi The first must-see film of the year.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

MisterWhiplash I don't know if this documentary is the "Hockey Movie For People Who Don't Like Hockey". Actually, it isn't - rather, if you love hockey, especially the history and progression of it (and particularly if you remember these players from the likes of the Red Wings or the Devils), you'll have a fondness for it. But it's the core and characters in this story that makes Gabe Polsky's first documentary so successful, past the moments of gruffness from the interviewees - actually, it's mostly the main subject, the leader of the Red Army Hockey Team in the heyday of the early 1980s, Vyacheslav Fetisov. Inspirational sports movies can be enjoyed by most people, sports fan or not, but this also brings on the politics and world affairs into the mix. How could it not, considering it largely takes place before the Cold War ends? And leave it to the hockey masters here to wonder what a "Cold War" even really meant, if anything at all.Of course by the end of the film we see why Fetisov and a couple of the other interviewees would say that - they currently hold ranks in the Russian government under the sports division (yes, there is such a group, but then this IS a country that has a nationalized hockey team in its military). Nonetheless, this is a story that involves us with these players who know almost nothing of hockey - rather, that's what's drilled in to them by a couple of coaches, one a sort of wise, awesome sage, and then another who is a ruthless and cruel taskmaster - and the games that made them legends. The lack of hyperbole with these interviewees, especially Fetisov, makes things grounded in a reality that sports docs usually on TV lack. Lots of great clips from the games, many from the Olympics of the 80's (including those classics where the Russians made their names against the US and Canada), highlight the film and draw the audience in to the action.Again, you don't necessarily have to love hockey to get into the film. On the other hand, Red Army's ace up its sleeve is that it may actually get you interested once it's over. It feature such unusual, frenetic action on display - the Red Army front, those five players, each with their own nicknames and personalities and deep friendships formed as 'Comrades' with sticks - that you can't help but get into it. It's like watching a form of dance much as it's a sport or game. And, I must say once more, the political dimensions heighten the weight and consequences that the players took on in the history: keep in mind that just as early as 1989, it was unthinkable Russians could be in the NHL. Now, they're as common to see as Canadians or any of the other major countries that usually bring in players.So buckle in for 80 minutes of a riveting story, often with a lot of unexpected, wild humor. Example: an elder ex-KGB agent is interviewed and gives his take on having to cover the Red Army players when first playing in Canada, and other instances of the secret politicos in the hockey arena. Watch as suddenly his grand-child comes in to the interview and humanity is revealed past the gruff exterior. It's priceless.

paulpolak Excellent biopic of of the Soviet Union's Red Army, as seen through the eyes and memories of great defenseman Slava Fetisov.Some of the previous negative reviews I think missed the point -- this was a film about Fetisov and the other players forming the "5-man" unit, a concept that is very Russian and is pretty much unheard of today in NHL hockey (possible exception of power play units notwithstanding). References to 1972 Summit Series would be out of place -- Fetisov was 22 for the 1980 Miracle on Ice, and it would be remiss to not mention the dominance that team would go on to have. Beating Canada in the Canada Cup final in 1981 (8-1!) was a testament to how good that team was. I should mention that Canada team included Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy, Guy LaFleur, Gilbert Perreault... a veritable "who's who" of NHL stars at the time, and all Hall of Famers now.Very revealing in what is said about Tarasov, his innovative coaching techniques, his sheer love of the game was obvious. Most shocking moment for me was to compare the affection Fetisov had/has for Tarasov, and the dislike (probably hatred is a better word) for Tikhonov. Watch his eyes narrow and expression change when Gabe first mentions Tikhonov.Fascinating to see the inner torment Fetisov had -- he is clearly a patriot who loved his country. Yet he was a virtual slave to a system that allowed him to play the sport he loved. His affection for his teammates is matched by his dislike of his coach, despite all the success he had with the team. He left the Soviet Union and joined the NHL, presumably because he wanted something for himself, but was branded here a "communist" and treated with no-little amount of contempt by opponents and even new teammates. I remember the press of the day and it was not positive (in general) to the newly arrived Russian players to the NHL, although foreign players (Swedes, Finns, Czechs, Slovaks) were already playing in the NHL for some time.Seeing film of Russian kids playing hockey made me think that could have been taken from almost anywhere in Canada. It was a nice moment.Part of me yearns for those days when "our" game and "their" game really were different. Now the game is more homogenized -- Canadian players at the NHL level are praised for their skill level (Crosby), while foreign players have often taken a more physical approach to their game and are successful (Ovechkin, Malkin).I grew up watching and playing the game, so it would seem to me to require some amount of "hockey-sense" to get the most out of this film. And yet, reading some of the former reviews by those who claim to know little/nothing about hockey indicates that maybe that criticism is unfounded.It's just a great documentary, very tight pacing and enjoyable. See it.

Edgar Allan Pooh . . . is one of the big take-aways from the documentary RED ARMY. Master Mogilny is portrayed here as the first Russian hockey star to defect to the NHL. Since these players were the elite of the Russian military, this would be on par with the Third Reich losing one of its field marshals to the Israeli war machine. With Mogilny gone, there was no hope that the USSR could last much longer. RED ARMY also makes it clear that ALL Olympic medals awarded to representatives of the USSR during the Soviet Era MUST be revoked forthwith, and presented to the runners-up or next placers. This is because the U.N. Charter prohibits human slavery, and RED ARMY proves that the Russian athletes were as much slaves during this time period as Kunta Kinte ever was. (Don't forget that this shameful Olympic organization revokes American medals at the drop of a hat all the time!) Finally, the "feel good" aspect of the "Slava" Fetisov story at the center of RED ARMY is totally crushed when Mr. Fetisov abandons Detroit to become a front for the current Russian strongman, "Mad Dog" Putin, recently voted the guy most likely to destroy Civilization as We Know It in a poll of experts. Putin already has raped Georgia and the Ukraine, and seems to wish to become known as "Hitler on Steroids." That a man such as Fetisov (who enjoyed metro Detroit for so long) can willingly become Putin's stooge shows that there may not be any hope for the Russian People.

John Kerrigan I watched "The Red Army" a documentary about the Russian hockey players that dominated the world in the 1980's during the Cold War, and the human story that emerged took me completely by surprise. The film features the Russian hockey players that played on the so- called "KLM" line, which consisted of defencemen Viacheslav Fetisov and Alexei Kasatonov, and forwards Sergei Makarov, Igor Larionov and Vladimir Krutov, the best five man unit that ever played the game. I feared these guys and the Soviet Union hockey team during the 1980's, my entire country did; Canadian hockey announcers pointed out the lack of emotion in their faces when they came to visit, suggesting that they weren't human. Every young child I knew growing up was afraid of the Russians and their way of life, anti Russian sentiment flowed through pop culture, it was a Cold War, a term that baffles the Russians interviewed in the film. This documentary reminded me of how ignorant we all were, the Iron Current prevented the western world from seeing people in the Soviet Union as human beings. The propaganda in my country prevented me from recognizing the creativity and talent these hockey players possessed.Viacheslav Fetisov was the leader of the group, he treated Alexei Kasatonov like a little brother all his young life. As I watched the images of early Russian hockey I must admit there was a part of me that envied the young boys that got sent to these hockey camps. Their coach Anatoli Tarasov mentored his players, and in the old film they showed he really seemed to enjoy himself. Tarasov was unorthodox, he saw hockey as a ballet, he had his players juggle during training, and they were rolling around on the ice like gymnasts. I never knew the early history of the "KLM" line but before they were Olympians they were children, and that's what this film depicts so brilliantly. The director and writer Gabe Polsky seems very close to Viacheslav Fetisov while he interviews him, and that really helped authenticate what I was hearing.The coach that took over the Russian hockey program from Tarasov was completely different from the gentle father that wanted to inspire. Viktor Tikhonov was a military man first, and according to Fetisov he cared nothing about his players as human beings. He wouldn't let his players see their families, even when a family member fell terminally ill. The relationship between Fetisov and Tikhonov is what pushed Fetisov out of the Red Army, the Russian government agreed to let him go after his many years of service but Tikhonov took back that offer, stopping the government from letting Fetisov join the NHL. The other players on the "KLM" line were eventually told they could join the NHL, but they would have to give up half their salary to mother Russia. Fetisov held strong, he would not go to the NHL without getting permission to sign his own contract, in his mind he was finished serving the Russian government.The film demonstrates how the politics at the time reflected the lives of these young hockey players and as I watched them go through this, I found myself cheering for them for the first time. A handful of young Russian hockey players were sent out to make money for their cash starved government, a couple of them signed with my beloved Vancouver Canucks. I still here the local stories about Vladimir Krutov, while he was in Vancouver he found the North American life style very hard to adjust to. When he arrived in Canada, he couldn't get over the fact he could get a hamburger from McDonald's anytime he wanted to, he could buy soft drinks and hot dogs from the corner store any hour of the day. He ballooned in his first year, growing bigger and bigger, his new freedom leading him to over indulgence. He didn't last long in the NHL; during his interview in this movie he was very stoic, he had lost his life in hockey without his country, he seemed so distant when he spoke.The Russian culture has always fascinated me, I've regarded our two national hockey teams as the best for many years. Hockey has changed however and Russia has changed right along with it, hockey has become more about skill and less about physical intimidation. Russia is now a democracy, still in its infancy, lots of good and bad going on in that country, and dealing with political corruption is at the forefront. This film starts at the peak of the communist regime and ends in present day Russia, a democracy still haunted by its past. Viacheslav Fetisov is now working in the KHL, a league that would never exist without political change, in 2002 Vladimir Putin made him minister of Sport for Russia, he never turned his back on his country and at no point did Fetisov take the easy way out. He faced his government like the big man he is, he looked the minister of defence right in the eyes and challenged him to send him to Siberia. The courage Fetisov shows in this story impressed me the most, and I loved learning that his closest friends were five boys that loved to play hockey together.