I have been fan of the UFC for some years now, it has some great characters, some of the fighters did it the real hard way to get to the top of the sport, and The Hammer is one of them! I grew up with my cousin who was born deaf, so I sort of know what Matt had to deal with, but like Matt my cousin was great at most things he had a go at, my cousin even got married and has 3 beautiful kids, something I never got the courage to do! What I liked about this film was that there was a lot of effort put in to try and make you feel and see what it must be like to be deaf, the story flows at a nice pace, and has a solid cast.Give this film a go, even if you are not into MMA, you will still feel like a champ watching Matt become The Hammer! A solid 8 out of 10, HI5

I know many people on here are writing rave reviews. Talking about how beautifully this film was made. And, I will agree, there were certainly some shining moments, especially with the sound editing.The thing I had the most difficulty with, was the accuracy. I went looking to see the true story of Matt, and the things he went through. But there were so many things that were wrong (fact wise) that it's hard to know what was real and what was fiction.I went to school with Matt, graduated in 1993. I personally know many of the people that were in the film. None of them were remotely close to their real life counterparts. Mike Rich, for one, was not even on the same page. Pat Hamill, Janet, and even Stan (his grandfather) were not given anything close to their real personalities either. And the town of Loveland, they made it laughable. There aren't (and weren't) miles and miles of corn. It isn't some one horse hick town as we would be lead to believe. I'm not saying every detail needs to be kept. But at least one would be nice. Do a little research, or at least try to make it look like you did.Another complaint I have, is for the first half of the film, even though they clearly say he is deaf, they treat him as if he's mentally handicapped. Matt, from what I know of him, was never stupid. People weren't embarrassed by him. I always saw him as respected and well liked.My final thought is this, the movie's message is great, and I guess that's what's the most important with a film like this. But it had potential to be so much better, and I think Matt deserves a better representation of his life, than what this film has given him.

I caught this at the AFI Film Fest in L.A., where it was the hottest ticket of the festival! The theater was packed, with people sitting in the aisles, wanting to see how it solved the problem of making a movie for both the hearing and the signing communities.They weren't disappointed! Everyone loved it, and it easily won the audience award for the breakthrough category of the festival. In fact, Hamill has now been in five festivals, and has won an audience or jury award in each one! Hamill combines the best attributes of sports film, character study and social commentary. The acting is top-notch, especially Russell Harvard as Matt Hamill and Michael Spady as his RIT roommate and fellow wrestler.My favorite scenes involve waterfalls, and the way the script and sound production are used to present a waterfall as Matt experiences it is masterful.A definite must-see movie!

Hamill is such a great movie! Breaking the barriers between the Deaf Community to the hearing. I loved the subtitles throughout the entire movie. Giving a new perspective into both sides worlds.The writing, editing, music and cast were all excellent! I wish I could see the movie again and bring all my friends and family this time. A must see inspirational heart warming movie. Russ Hamilton performance was outstanding! I'm not a big wrestling fan, but this movie goes way beyond the wrestling storyline. It shows a mans determination to succeed and live his dream.Shot in my home town of Rochester NY; this movie helps to also educate people about the NTID programs available to the hearing impaired students at the Rochester Institute of Technology. RIT - National Technical Institute for the Deaf - NTID is the world's largest technical college for deaf students. This movie is great for audiences of all ages!