What the critics said about Roy’s performance :

QUEBEC RELEASE – NOVEMBER 2005

Cinoche  (Karl Filion) ****
… the inspired performance of Roy Dupuis, who personifies a passionate and modest Maurice Richard to the tips of his fingers.

La Presse  (Marc-André Lussier)  ***½
Thanks to Roy Dupuis’ astonishing performance, the Maurice of the film seems larger than life.  …  Much is made of the eloquent silences of this “man of few words”, whose provocation turned him into an inferno on the ice.  You can feel the blood, sweat and tears. At times Dupuis is more heartbreaking than ever before.

A first rate film, carried by Roy Dupuis’ performance.

Showbizz   (Véronique Juneau) ***½
The actors are beyond reproach. Roy Dupuis, in the title role, Julie LeBreton (Lucille Richard), Stephen McHattie (Dick Irvin) and Patrice Robitaille (Émile ‘Butch’ Bouchard) are dazzling. […] And the wonderful scene where Richard breaks down in tears in the locker room alone outweighs any criticism.

Radio-Canada  (Michel Coulombe) ****
The role, physical and of few words, seems made to measure for him.  A mixture of controlled rage and determination, Dupuis makes an extremely moving couple with Julie Breton. […] An irreproachable cast.

Le Cinéma  (Stéphanie Nolin)  ****
For the occasion, Roy Dupuis straps on his skates to play a larger-than-life Maurice Richard. The enthusiasm, the determination and the intensity of the No.9 is reflected in the gestures of Dupuis who gives a moving and inspired performance.  Far from doing an impersonation, the actor really seems to be filled with the same zeal that fired Richard.  Equally intense in the dramatic scenes as the sporting ones, Roy Dupuis truly delivers a masterstroke which will not be lost on the audience.

Big hits for lecinema.ca :

•  Almost everything lives up to the man that was Maurice Richard

•  Roy Dupuis, once again exceptional

The cinemaphotography and the “period”  set design

Voir.ca
The internet reviewers give Maurice Richard on average  ****

• “Roy Dupuis is quite simply fantastic in the role of the Rocket, and only he could have created such an accurate interpretation.”
• “For those who don’t like him, you even forget that it’s Roy Dupuis.”
• “As for Roy Dupuis, he is quite simply extraordinary in this role.”
• “I think that Roy Dupuis was the perfect actor for the role;  not only because of his acting, but he gives the impression that he is really inhabited by Maurice, and this translates onto the screen as a great wave of sincerity. To such an extent that in parts of the film you think it’s the real Maurice Richard.”
• “Roy Dupuis is, as always, unbelievably accurate; he is Maurice Richard.  He doesn’t say much, but everything in his bearing is exactly like Maurice Richard.”

<< … and many, many more … >>

Montreal Mirror  (Sarah Rowland)  no rating
The lead is also essential here, and Dupuis doesn’t disappoint. He pretty much nails the intense, on-ice stare of the Rocket, while leaving enough in his emotional range for Richard’s off-ice persona.

Hour  (Isa Tousignant)  no rating
The choice couldn't have been more astute, then, to cast Dupuis as Richard, the only man in Quebec history to outdo him both in acclaim and intensity.

National Post  (Dave Stubbs)  no rating
[Mathieu] Dandenault << professional hockey player who plays the Boston Bruins’ star Hal Laycoe in the film >> gained great respect for the craft of filmmaking, and for the acting genius and hockey skills of the film's star.  "Roy's a really nice guy," he said. "He's competitive on the ice and a pretty good player, and he was happy when I told him that. He's done a tremendous job."

Toronto Star  (Nelson Wyatt) no rating
Dupuis, whose bad-boy good looks don't make him a double for Richard, does capture the hockey star's inner fortitude and simplicity with his subtle performance.  “I think Maurice had a quiet strength to him,” said Dupuis. “He was also a man of action.”

CANADIAN RELEASE – APRIL 2006

Sun Media (Louis B. Hobson) ****
Dupuis is a marvel. He is a confident actor. He almost can dispense with dialogue and still reveal what Richard is feeling and thinking. This is essential because Richard was a man who kept a lid on his emotions.  Even when he did explode into action, he seemed to be holding as much in as he was letting escape.  One moment, Dupuis is able to show Richard's profound dismay at not being allowed to play and the next his elation at the birth of his first child.  Most important, Dupuis is able to capture the nobility of the man who galvanized the pride of a whole province without making it seem insincere or melodramatic.

Toronto Sun (Bill Harris ) ***½
The Rocket, with the solid Roy Dupuis in the title role …

CBC Arts Online (Matthew Hays)  no rating
In Charles Binamé’s biopic The Rocket – which opens this week across Canada after already proving a box-office success in its native Quebec – thespian heartthrob Roy Dupuis pulls off an astonishing performance as late hockey legend Maurice Richard. […] It’s difficult to convey just how significant this casting decision was for Quebec audiences. Richard resonates as a wildly popular athletic folk hero in la belle province. […] Dupuis has also become a symbol of Quebec pride, because of his immense star power and exalted position in the province’s booming film business.

Black Press (Kurt Langmann) **** (out of 4)
Quebec movie star Roy Dupuis is perfectly cast as Richard.
Dupuis also grew up playing the game and does all the stunt work in the film, and he developed a close friendship with Richard which helped Dupuis portray the young Richard in a Heritage Canada commercial and Quebec TV special. But more than this, Dupuis has the piercing, intense eyes that terrified his opponents when he turned on the rockets and barrelled down the ice to score yet another goal. […] It’s a wonderful story, and you don’t even have to be a hockey fan to get lumps in your throat from this true-life fairy tale. Four stars out of four, for perfection in movie-making.