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Action heroes roll over stereotypes in fierce 'Murderball'
by Bob Longino

Mark Zupan, the muscled wheelchair poster boy for the headbanging documentary "Murderball," is frank about talking smack to nonhandicapped guys: "I go, 'What? You're not gonna hit a kid in a chair? [Expletive] hit me! I'll hit you back.'" Zupan is dead serious. As serious with fighting words as he is crashing into an opponent in a rowdy game of wheelchair rugby. That's what "Murderball" is about. These grown men play full-contact rugby in custom-built, "Road Warrior"-style wheelchairs. Their game is ugly, raucously verbal, overtly physical and, as displayed in "Murderball's" rapid-pace editing, a heck of a lot of fun to watch. Read the full review

TO SUM UP
A documentary about paraplegics who play full-contact rugby in Mad Max-style wheelchairs, ultimately competing in the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.

FILM FACTS ...

ThinkFilm

'Murderball'

Directors: Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
Cast: Keith Cavill, Joe Soares, Mark Zupan
Run time: 88 minutes
Release date: July 22, 2005
Rating: R for language and sexual content.

On the web
Official movie site
View the trailer
Trailers require Quicktime

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READ THE REVIEW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: B+
"It may seem at times like a strange film, but it's a compelling one."

Read the full review

Austin American-Statesman: 3 of 5 stars
"Despite the movie's contextual thinness, it strikes emotionally deep, particularly during the climactic showdown of teams U.S.A. and Canada at the Paralympics in Athens, Greece."