Movie Review: Gridiron Gang (2006)
Synopsis: Growing frustrated with the way kids incarcerated at the Kilpatrick Detention Center in Los Angeles return to their gangs soon after being released, Sean Porter forms a football team, the Mustangs, as a way to teach them responsibility and discipline. Despite some early success, the team's season is put in jeopardy when the gangs strike at one of their games.
Who's in it? The movie stars Dwayne Johnson, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell, Kevin Dunn and Jade Scott Yorker.
Review: My wife is having an afternoon out with her brother so while having some lunch, I looked for a movie to watch without here. It had been a while since I last saw Gridiron Gang and I couldn't find much else on, so I gave it another try. While I remember not enjoying this movie all that much when I first watched it, it turned out to be better than I remembered.
My first impression of this movie is it was a bit like The Longest Yard, but with kids. That impression didn't change much, even after watching the movie for a second time, but the film, which is based on real-life events, does have enough uniqueness to make it its own film.
Johnson does a great job as the star of the movie. It's one of the few times when he's not playing the typical action-hero-like character and gives him a real chance to show off his acting ability. Specifically, he gets to be the tough guy but with a great deal of compassion. It allowed him to be believable when it came to the scenes that showed he genuinely cared about what happened to the kids on his team.
The drama toward the end regarding the gangs was intriguing. While it set up an obstacle for the team because nobody wanted to face them afterwards, it was one of those obstacles that also made sense as it was easy to understand why parents would be concerned.
My only real complaint about the movie is there were a lot of things that were stereotypical of sports films, including the tired trope of having the team ending the movie against a team that dominated them earlier in the season. As I told my daughter, I would love to see a film tell the story from that other team's point of view for a change.
Final Opinion: There's not a whole lot that separates this film from other sports movies, but the plot is decent enough to make it worth watching at least once and Johnson does a surprisingly decent job.
My Grade: B
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Here are some reviews of other sports related movies:
Movie Review: College Coach (1933)
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