The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers Premiere Early Review

The following is a spoiler-free review of the first three episodes of The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers. The first episode premieres this Friday on Disney+

In an age of reboots and reimaginings, what’s old is new again. Nostalgia can be a powerful thing when utilized properly. What better than Disney’s treasure trove of a back catalog to tap into some nostalgia? The Mighty Ducks film series was a mainstay of the 1990s, bringing audiences closer to a team of misfit hockey players and Emilio Estevez’s Gordon Bombay. Now the world of The Mighty Ducks is back with the new Disney+ series, The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, though it’s not quite the one most will expect at least so far. Best described as a refresh in the way that Cobra Kai did for the Karate Kid series, this series sets a course for a new story adjacent to the film world though whether or not it will move closer remains to be seen.

The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers tells the story of a single mother named Alex (Lauren Graham) and her 12-year-old son named Evan (Brady Noon) where after Evan was cut from the powerhouse Mighty Ducks team, she encouraged him to form a new team. Suffice it to say that the world today was much different from the world back then, essentially echoing today, where the priority was now winning and getting ahead at all costs instead of simply having fun and being kids. Normal childhoods are sacrificed for the goal of setting kids up for the best colleges as parents use their success as a means to embellish their collective egoes.

As far as Alex and Evan were concerned, they weren’t like all the others, for better or worse, which presented its own set of challenges for each of them beyond that of the usual single mother and pre-teen son relationship. While those challenges are ongoing, these first three episodes were a compelling way to get the ball (or puck) rolling. The episodes found a nice balance as Alex contended with the modern parent establishment in the midst of trying to do right for her son while Evan who was dealing with his own issues at school trying to reconcile his relationships with his classmates.

Much of these episodes were spent watching Alex and Evan works things out on their end as the beginning stages of a new misfit hockey team came to life as the shadow of the juggernaut that is the Mighty Ducks continued to loom large but they were the least of this new team’s problems. Just like the original Mighty Ducks, this team would need to come into their own very fast. All roads look to lead to a broken down Gordon Bombay who had lost his passion for hockey, seemingly after seeing what his Mighty Ducks have become, but maybe this new team will rekindle that passion? Meanwhile, Alex and Evan were both well aware of who he was which made for one of many fun dynamics and subplots.

In the end, the story may be predictable and derivative and the humor may cater to younger audiences but the sheer passion and energy on display here was admittedly infectious to watch. That begins and ends with Graham and Estevez who were great here as Alex and Gordon Bombay respectively. Graham was fun to watch as the perpetually-overwhelmed yet caring mother who always tried to make the best out of the situation to do right for her son. Estevez was a scene-stealer as a damaged man deflecting from his pain by pushing people away while watching him get used to the times was a nice touch if only to see how far he has gone since the original film series. Noon was also impressive as Evan, showing plenty of charisma and screen presence as our gateway into the story.

Overall, the Mighty Ducks: Game Changers premiere delivers a fun start and it will certainly be fun to see how it comes together.

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.