The entertaining story and fun humor are what drew many like me to this movie when we were younger. But there’s more to this movie than just narrative and comedic flourishes; its technical work is really solid in places, and adds to the exciting moments that we’re invested in because of how much we enjoy the characters. The first moment that is striking for the eyes is that time trial run on the hill at night, first with Derice watching the Swiss team, and then the Cool Runnings team having their go. The music and the light bring out the feeling of a cold Canadian night that serves as such a contrast to the warm Jamaican images that we had just been seeing moments earlier.
Then there are the competition runs, with the sound greatly enhancing the danger and menace of the speedy bobsled rides. The final run and crash is of course the most compelling, and the moment the music cuts out, its gets crazy real. There’s the shot of the inside of the sled, showing the team being betrayed by their equipment, a symptom of their economic inferiority to the other teams. Then the crash itself comes, with the sound containing some of the most gruesome features of the sequence, combined with the images of the bobsledders heads being dragged and pressed against the icy track. This makes the payoff of the shot where the crowd of medical personnel part like the sea to show the sledders carrying their sled to the finish that much more powerful and triumphant.
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