The Pennsylvania Miners' Story

This movie was absolutely terrible. I have never seen such maudlin crap. I mean, every single little cliche was found in this movie. Crying wives, friendships tested, hope. I mean, sure those are good themes and all, but it wasn't done in an original way. The makers had a real opportunity here to make a good movie out of an event that touched America, but all they did was make crap to take advantage of the currently patriotic America. Really made me sick to watch every scene.

I don't know what it's like to be a miner, but this movie certainly showed that miners are 'a different breed'. They were shown to be capable of handling much more than the average person, and probably more than they thought. The scenes of the danger, especially the rising water, inside the mine appeared very realistic and quite scary. While at times the miners appeared on the verge of giving up, who wouldn't be? But they didn't just give up, and this real-life event had to be nothing more than a miracle. Some of the miners had a strong faith, and those who didn't had to develop one fast. When they all said "The Lord's Prayer", it was clear all of them knew what it would take to get them out of the situation.

The one weakness, for me, was the cliched performances of some of the family members who were desperate for information or good news. But as one cast member said, these people were just saying what everyone wanted to. I also thought some of the bad language was unnecessary, especially when the miners were not yet in danger (though you have to believe the real miners said much worse). One source referred to the movie as family-oriented, and except for the language and some scary moments, it surely was.

It is clear this movie was motivated by the desire to profit from this almost tragedy. How else could one explain the speed with which this movie was made! Like many others I followed this story with interest when it happened last summer. I was very happy to see this rescue effort succeed. I would have preferred to see this movie produced for a movie theater or at least a movie station (HBO or Showtime)! I have met a miner or two in my day and I'm certain the language was not as mild as the dialog in this production! I rated this movie a 6 because of the obvious censorship displayed in the dialog. I hope the brave men who lived through this ordeal received a LARGE sum of money from ABC or whatever production company created this movie.

This story is something like what actually happened, I live in somerset pa. The mine in which the coal miners were trapped in is exactly 2 miles from my house. I personally know the guys who were trapped in the mine. As compared to a lot of other "based on a true story" movies this one is actually pretty close to the actual happenings. The mine is still running and still has all the publicity signs up. This whole catastrophe could have been prevented if the maps would've been updated before they began digging. On a personal note, the 9 men trapped in the mine hesitated and didn't want a movie to be made of this. They claim "I was just doing my job" which I respect greatly because they represent a life long traditional job that has been a "way of life" for many generations.

I thought that the movie was terrific. The special effects were amazing. The mine scene was very realistic. I am originally from that area of Pennsylvania and I thought the actors did a great job portraying the coal miners.