Murderball (2005)

98% of critics liked it
(137 reviews)
87% of users liked it
(10,515 ratings)

Better known as Wheelchair Rugby, Murderball is a game created by quadriplegic athletes that is every bit as aggressive as the name would lead one to expect; played with bone-breaking intensity, a typical game of Wheelchair Rugby involves plenty of trash-talking, a few head-on collisions, and the… More Better known as Wheelchair Rugby, Murderball is a game created by quadriplegic athletes that is every bit as aggressive as the name would lead one to expect; played with bone-breaking intensity, a typical game of Wheelchair Rugby involves plenty of trash-talking, a few head-on collisions, and the occasional player being thrown from his modified wheelchair. The game has become an official event at the Paralympics, a worldwide competition for handicapped athletes, and the United States and Canada have become fierce rivals in the event. When Joe Soares was dropped from the top-seated American team, he angrily retaliated by signing on as coach for the Canadian team, which he led to an upset victory for Team Canada in the games. In 2004, filmmaker Henry Alex Rubin and journalist Dana Adam Shapiro followed both teams as they traveled to Athens, Greece, for the 2004 Paralympics, documenting the fierce competition between the two teams (especially the Americans, bitterly stung by what they saw as Soares' betrayal). Murderball offers an up-close look at the 2004 Wheelchair Rugby tournament, as well as the personal stories of the athletes who are passionate, driven, and determined to win -- as one of them says, "I'm not here for a hug, I'm here for a medal." Murderball earned an enthusiastic reception in its premier screenings at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 25 min.
Directed By: Henry-Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
Written By: Dana Adam Shapiro
Genres: Documentary, Sports & Fitness, Special Interest

In Theaters: Jul 22, 2005 Limited
On DVD: Nov 29, 2005
Studio: ThinkFilm

Critic Reviews

Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
Murderball is no Rocky-esque hymn to the human spirit. It's more like a prison movie...
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
An honest, down-to-earth account of how life goes on for people with disabilities.
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
This offbeat documentary is inspiring and jaw-droppingly original.
Tom Long, Detroit News
The frank lack of condescension and mean moments of Murderball make it more than a film about sports or quadriplegics: It becomes a movie about life, about struggle, about pain, bitterness and pushing forward.
Michael Booth, Denver Post
Wheels us through an emotional obstacle course so rigorous and satisfying you'll be gulping for air by the end.
Robert Denerstein, Denver Rocky Mountain News
I don't know whether directors Henry Alex Rubin and Dan Adam Shapiro set out to show the jock mentality with such clarity, but that's precisely what their gripping movie does.
Nick Rogers, Suite101.com
There's little room for tears in the testosterone-riddled territory of quadriplegic rugby. "Murderball" spat on that power of the human spirit stuff and rolled along to a kick-ass showcase of not what spinal injury excluded, but what it enabled.
Jay Antani, Cinema Writer
a triumph of filmmaking: of structure, character development, and pacing
Cole Smithey, ColeSmithey.com
The quadriplegic rugby sport referred to as "Murderball" is lovingly examined in a well-crafted documentary that goes a long way toward showing the mental and physical fortitude of these wheelchair bound athletes who insist on living life to the fullest.
Richard Luck, Film4
Arguably the greatest sports movie since Hoop Dreams and When We Were Kings.
Cynthia Fuchs, Common Sense Media
Rowdy and inspiring documentary for older teens and adults.
Matthew Sorrento, Film Threat
Filmmakers Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro wisely chose a high-energy aesthetic to portray quadriplegic rugby (a.k.a. "Murderball") through the story of Mark Zupan and his American teammates battling for Paralympic gold.
Robert Davis, Paste Magazine
Even when the movie tries to shoe-horn its stories into the standard documentary mold, it serves to drive home the point: these guys aspire to the same clichés as the rest of us.
Dave Calhoun, Time Out New York
What emerges is more interesting, thankfully, than a linear offering of sporting triumph in the face of adversity.
Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review
All of the men are striking examples of the indomitable human spirit.
Steve O'Hagan, Empire Magazine
A leftfield sports documentary that's as insightful and thought-provoking as it is fast and furious.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Além de revelador e interessante, sua inteligente montagem prende a atenção do espectador através do desenvolvimento de seus "personagens" e do conflito entre os dois times principais.
Jeffrey Chen, Window to the Movies
It's an ode to the indomitable stubbornness of people, really, to pursue what gets them off, no matter what it takes.

Read all 18 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bob S

Murderball is a good sports documentary and a great look at living with a disability. On the surface, this film unabashedly celebrates defiant machismo and the competitive spirit but underneath I sensed a more speculative investigation of human motivation, in many different arenas.… More
Murderball is a good sports documentary and a great look at living with a disability. On the surface, this film unabashedly celebrates defiant machismo and the competitive spirit but underneath I sensed a more speculative investigation of human motivation, in many different arenas. Murderball is very well structured and edited - a minor complaint - the filming of the wheelchair rugby game sequences left me confused about this relatively unknown sport. That's a minor quibble because most of this inspirational film takes place off the court. "I use everything I have to get through life, We all have to use everything we have."
Jennifer X

I am a sucker for films like these. It's almost impossible that I was not going to like "Murderball." Anything that involves sports and rage and physical disability and empowerment (empowerment in the awesome, beat-yo-ass way, not empowerment in the "encouraging… More
I am a sucker for films like these. It's almost impossible that I was not going to like "Murderball." Anything that involves sports and rage and physical disability and empowerment (empowerment in the awesome, beat-yo-ass way, not empowerment in the "encouraging dialogue" kind of way) is A-OK with me. Mark Zupan is an excellent choice of a hero, all outspoken and solid yet full of rage.
Chris W

This is a very interesting and memorable documentary blending sports, humanity, and living with being handicapped. These guys may be in wheelchairs, but they take they are badass, and take their brand of rugby, or rather, wheelchair rugby, very seriously. In fact, the film's… More
This is a very interesting and memorable documentary blending sports, humanity, and living with being handicapped. These guys may be in wheelchairs, but they take they are badass, and take their brand of rugby, or rather, wheelchair rugby, very seriously. In fact, the film's title comes from the sport's nickname- that's how hardcore these guys are. They're not totally jerk jocks, though. These guys are also family men who just try to continue living life as normally as possible given the circumstances, and this film is just a nice little look into their lives as well as their sport. Good stuff all around. I highly recommend it.
Sophie B

I really enjoyed this film as it allowed me to learn more about quadriplegics and their situation and how they feel about the constant prejudice and discrimination. It was funny, informative and entertaining. An inspirational film.
Anthony L

A fantastic insight into the history, storeys and interesting characters of my new favourite sport! Highly recommended!
Aaron N

Fuck the penguins, this was the best documentary of 05.
Nate Z

[center][font=Arial][color=darkred][img]http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/6179/photo061de.jpg[/img][/color][/font][/center] [font=Arial][color=darkred]A fascinating look into the world of international wheelchair rugby, a high-octane game of bumper cars. This is a mere 80-minute… More
[center][font=Arial][color=darkred][img]http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/6179/photo061de.jpg[/img][/color][/font][/center] [font=Arial][color=darkred]A fascinating look into the world of international wheelchair rugby, a high-octane game of bumper cars. This is a mere 80-minute movie and yet the wallop it packs can be felt long after. In such a short amount of time you get to understand the people, you really get involved in their drama and social situations, their competitive nature. [i]Murderball[/i] explores so much of a little-seen world; I love the segment where they frankly talk about sex after their accidents. The help video that advises what sexual positions may be best for people in wheelchairs is hilarious. I never thought about it but there has to be quad groupies out there licking their lips. Mark Zupan comes across as nothing short of a superhero, and he’s just being himself. The film is surprisingly moving and poignant, with many uplifting scenes without ever getting sentimental. This movie earns every emotion, unlike my thoughts on [i]Elizabethtown[/i]. The people featured don’t want to get sentimental, they don’t want your pity; they just want to be treated the same how they were before their accidents. The wheelchair rugby bouts are exciting, with lots of interesting camerawork and useful animation. I loved immersing myself in this unusual sport, learning the point system depending upon the ability of movement with each person. This is an expertly crafted documentary with tight, rock-solid editing (it won an award for it at Sundance). You get this wealth of emotions and stories in at 80 minutes with enough time to close on an extended montage at the 2004 Paralympic games in Athens. It’s incredible seeing them turn their wheelchairs into these chariots of destruction. You get a great sense of the people and their world. This is the best documentary since the exceptional 2002 doc [i]Spellbound[/i], and [i]Murderball[/i] is nothing short of the BEST film of 2005.[/color][/font] [font=Times New Roman][font=Arial][size=2][color=darkred]Nate’s Grade: A[/color][/size][/font][/font]
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"Murderball" is a documentary about wheelchair rugby which begins at the 2002 World Championships in Sweden and leads up to the 2004 Paralympics which are held in Athens, following the Olympics. Wheelchair rugby is a rough and tumble sport or as one… More
[font=Century Gothic]"Murderball" is a documentary about wheelchair rugby which begins at the 2002 World Championships in Sweden and leads up to the 2004 Paralympics which are held in Athens, following the Olympics. Wheelchair rugby is a rough and tumble sport or as one player calls it - "kill the guy with the ball." (Thus illustrating perfectly that the handicapped are not all as delicate as we would think and that they have to work out their agressiveness, too.) The movie focuses on the American team(especially Mark Zupan, who is rather charismatic) training for the Paralympics. At the same time, Joe Soares is coaching and training Team Canada. He used to be a great player with Team America but was turned down for a spot one year and went to coach Team Canada.(Soares reminds me of a bit of Robert Duvall in "The Great Santini.") It does resemble the storylines of any number of sports movies from Hollywood except I think they would have used Russia, China or Iran instead of Canada. [/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic]"Murderball" educated me quite a deal on the nature of being of quadriplegic; in that it is much more complex than I thought at first. It is not just a matter of being paralyzed; there are degrees of paralysis, too. The section on sex was most illuminating. Basically, I thought this documentary was very entertaining and touching but not in a maudlin "disease of the week" way. But it is still not as good as the great documentary "When Billy Broke His Head...And Other Tales of Wonder." [/font] [font=Century Gothic][/font] [font=Century Gothic] [/font]
Mike N

It feels like so many people are just drifters from revelation to revelation. We fulfill all the minimum requirements for surviving, and yet this malaise is killing us, little by little. I see so many simply plugged in to fill the space like props. Nobody knows how to invest… More
It feels like so many people are just drifters from revelation to revelation. We fulfill all the minimum requirements for surviving, and yet this malaise is killing us, little by little. I see so many simply plugged in to fill the space like props. Nobody knows how to invest themselves. The slow suicide, the attrition of passion. All this familiarity offers angles, but we don't know how to rotate what it is we're looking at. Even the silence menace of summer shares the blame. But, sometimes, we rediscover perspective. Like a smoker getting their trusty old lighter to finally ignite. And when we do that, we shave a layer from our lens of ignorance, and bowels of our factory creak just a little. A conveyor belt trudges. A robotic arm lurches. A lightbulb flickers. It just hits us, through some complicated snowballing of thought, and you don't know how to retrace the path. When it seems like so many are losing the battle of energy, some unforeseen stratagem is revealed and we see hope again. The dawning of a new light. But, I don't like to wait that long for perspective. Often, I can't wait that long. I need to surge. I need to gush. I need to raise a spoon to the night and whirl the stars into a worm hole. Because sometimes poetry isn't poetic enough, and wisdom just isn't wise enough. And when I explore deeper into this maze of mortality, I want to find the owl that will lead me where my grand quest really begins. So, I have a plan. I know how to fight the cannibalization of my inspiration. It's these trappings that squeeze all my tiny pulps dry, and I grow fuzzy and green with mental fallout...but I will try and ruin them. I must be like Wile E. Coyote and tie a rope between each side of the canyon to pull them together. What I need is the rawness of survival to be my guide, to stay in motion. I must live in alertness, live with wings, pray for more easterly winds. And perhaps, when I stir the stew of creation, I can eventually pour something truly worthwhile from it. Thankfully, we all have magic vines to the sky that we can tug when we need help. The results may not appear immediate, but it's always there if you want to try it. Ah, bleargh. Though I may not possess so much of it at times, the human spirit can be beautifully indefatigable (I've been wanting to use that word). People can live with the ardor of ten humans, and yet they may be physically incomplete. The movie [b]Murderball[/b] features quadriplegics living just as fully abled people would, despite their dysfunctional, or missing, limbs. (Well, aside from them playing hardcore wheelchair rugby). The movie is satisfyingly galvanic and runs a gamut on so many emotions and perspectives. It is a glittering testament to reality being so much more fantastic than most fiction we can conceive. Seriously, it's good.
Joey N

A documentary about quadriplegic rugby players. It's hard to imagine anyone not liking this.
Sunil J

A rough and tough documentary about guys in wheelchairs playing a wheelchair sport.
Richard F

Turns purely fascinating subject matter into one of the most mesmerizing, astonishing documentaries I've ever witnessed!
Wu C

Educational and moving documentary about quad rugby players. Loved it.