Börje - The Journey of a Legend

Mrs. Shullivan and I are of the vintage back in the 1970-1980's when Sweden's Börje Salming and Inge Hammarstrom were first introduced by the media to Toronto Maple Leafs fan base back in 1973. The Swedish players were known for their finesse and not for their toughness but that fallacy was quickly reversed after each game that Börje Salming sacrificed his body and played with the biggest heart of any Toronto Maple Leaf player who donned the blue and white jersey.

After finishing the first four (4) of the six (6) episodes we are hooked on this TV mini-series biography. Yes, there is a lot of dialogue in the Swedish language which requires English sub-titles but it only adds to the irony and conviction of the two Swedish hockey stars who travelled across the continents to play in a foreign country and had to initially struggle both on and off the ice learning our English language and adjusting to the more physical and pugilistic approach of the 1970's NHL format. So excuse the producers for injecting just a wee bit of the reality of adjusting to a new life in a foreign country and learning a second language but in my humble opinion this biography provided just a bit of reality of the transition these two professional athletes were required to adjust to make it in the NHL.

I am excited to watch the upcoming last two (2) episodes of this TV mini-series but Mrs. Shullivan and I know how it will end. Börje Salming's early life was a hardship but his hockey skills drove him to greatness such that he is now considered one of the 100 greatest players in NHL history.

This is an excellent biography and a must see for ALL hockey fans. I give this TV series a grateful 9 out of 10 IMDb rating for the series but I give Börje Salming a perfect 10 out of 10 for both the man and the hockey player he was. Borje may never have won the coveted Stanley Cup but he did win the hearts of millions of hockey fans. Rest in peace Börje Salming. You are greatly missed.

Based on one of Sweden's best ice hockey players of all time, this amateurish attempt of a biopic is so naive and generic you wish any of the executives would have called for a "time out".

The narrative is film school mixed with some Hallmark style of simplistic storytelling. Lame and stale cliché voice over only makes things worse.

Too fond of the use of vintage costumes and art direction, the acting is overall so stiff it never feels authentic.

One wonders what biographical movies they had as inspiration. Nickelodeon ...

The overtly amount of sentimental musical feels like a student filmmaker rather professional.

And why does everyone have to yell out "Borje". In every scene?! We got it - that's him name.

As a Leafs fan Borje was one of my favourite hockey players and he has a great life story. However this version is awful. The acting was wooden and stereotypical and the production values were from the 70's. Right from the outset the series seemed to have no focus. Not sure why reviews here have to be at least 600 words cause I have no more to say. Borje himself may be disappointed in this despite his participation in its development. I was looking forward to a great biopic and this was obviously not it. Melodramatic and tedious, boring and stultifying. Those are the adjectives that come to mind without referencing a thesaurus. That's 600 words. But watch it and judge for yourself. Go Leafs!