Red Army Response #2

'Red Army'

 In the L.A. Times review of 'Red Army', Kenneth Turan states that lives of individuals changed as the U.S.S.R transitioned into what Russia is today. This review catches the attention of sports lovers because the documentary is constantly involved with hockey and how it affected life in Russia. Other than sports lovers, people who are interested in history may enjoy listening to this review. Russia has been a powerhouse for the last century, military wise. Turan explains who the documentary is about very vividly by describing that Viacheslav Fetisov was one of the best defensemen in hockey's history. This hockey player who later left Russia to come to the United States to play for the New Jersey Devils.

Kenneth Turan spoke about the change that alienated Russia's hockey team. This happened when there was a coaching change in the locker room. In this review, it is stated that the orginal coach of Russia felt that the sport was an "art form" and taught the team through concepts he learned by studying chess and dancing. After being taken over by a new coach, who had "heartless demands", the team did not want to play for Russia anymore. This is interesting to the audience because we can see similarities in the coaching change coinciding with the transformation with leadership in Russia. Some leaders were very good and others were powerful dictators. Russia's sports team were taken very seriously from what it sounds like in this review.

Hockey was not the only sport that the country supported. Russia supplied " Considerable funds" in other sports including gymnastics. Through the Olympics and other national sporting events, Turan states that Russia had to have athletic success to prove the superiority of the Soviet Nation. He also compares the actors in the documentary to be "trained circus bears playing hockey" which I felt was a pretty interesting compariosn. Also, he states the documentary lacks humor but also says it was entertaining.

Reviewers Name: Kenneth Turan

Publication: Los Angeles Times

Title of Review: 'Red Army'