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$9.99 Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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Gridiron Gang
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MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some startling scenes of violence, mature thematic material and language
Starring The Rock, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell, Leon Rippy, Kevin Dunn, Jade Yorker, David V. Thomas, and Setu Taase
Gridiron Gang tells the gritty and powerfully emotional story of juvenile detention camp probation officer Sean Porter (The Rock), who, along with another officer, Malcolm Moore (Xzibit), turns a group of hardcore teenage felons into a high school football team in four weeks. Confronted with gang rivalries and bitter hatred between his teammates, Porter teaches some hard lessons (and learns a few himself) as the kids gain a sense of self-respect and responsibility. (Sony)
| GENRE(S): | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: |
Jeff Maguire
Jac Flanders (film Gridiron Gang) |
| DIRECTED BY: | Phil Joanou |
| RELEASE DATE: |
DVD: January 16, 2007 Theatrical: September 15, 2006 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 120 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | USA |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 8.5 (out of 10) based on 26 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Foore B gave it a10:
A great sports movie, with a great message. This is one of Dwayne Johnson's best.
Sjs gave it a10:
A great movie! I'm not even a football fan. But these young men I was rooting for!
N J. gave it an8:
Yes, it is full of cliches. But this is what so many movies today don't have: a story that reflects what life could and should be like(rather than the "realism" of most films today); an uplifting life-is-good theme; and characters that you really care about and root for.
Mark B. gave it an8:
Fade this football drama to black and white, substitute Pat O'Brien for Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, omit the street language and drive-by shootings, and include more than just one White guy on the team, and you've got a 1938 "B" movie that would play fairly well as Turner Classic Movies 2 AM fodder. In short, this shouldn't work nearly as well as it does, so why does it work so well? Unlike its closest current rival, the true-life-with-disclaimers rah-rah saga Invincible, whose pretentiousness only serves to accent how hokey and threadbare it is, Gridiron Gang's utter simplicity, conviction and sincerity really help it to score. Director Phil Joanou (Three O Clock High, U2 Rattle & Hum) and writer Jeff Maguire (In The Line Of Fire) are seasoned movie pros, but a measure of just how nicely their collaboration works is that one of its Big Moments--in which opposing gang members and other juvenile detention facility inmates in unison refuses a command, which of course tips him off that they're finally working together as a team--is lifted straight from The Dirty Dozen's playbook, but is handled so deftly that it took me days to realize it. Trevor Rabin's full-bodied musical score is, like the music for Patch Adams and last year's Shopgirl, one of those highly manipulative efforts that tries to tell me how to feel, but I forgave and even enjoyed it because Joanou rather daringly used it in place of the standard gangsta-rap CD jukebox wallpaper that you'd normally expect to hear in a movie dealing with gang warfare; the movie avoids the hypocrisy of speaking out against violence in the dialogue while inadvertently endorsing it on the soundtrack. Excellent pacing, characters worth rooting for, some wonderfully effective off-the-field sequences (the one where an assistant coach talks the dean of a Christian college into allowing the prison team to play by quoting Bible verses verbatim is a favorite) make this an inspirational movie that really inspires: if it's not quite as effective as recent personal favorites Akeelah and the Bee and The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio, that's largely because there are already lots of football movies, very few spelling bee movies and, as far as I know, NO other housewife-who-wins-"complete-this-sentence-in-25-words-or less" movies in existence. The Rock, who has delivered witty, sly performances in The Scorpion King, The Rundown and Be Cool, is called upon to project total altruism and dedication; he does so with equal charisma and charm. He's apparently the reason why reviewers almost never use the phrase "as an actor, he's a great wrestler" when describing the film work of Hulk Hogan, John Cena or Kane...no matter how warranted!
Michelle C. gave it a6:
This is no different from the hundreds of football movies out there. The Rock is terrible as usual. Some of the other supporting roles were cast well though. Only for the serious football fan will this be enjoyable.
Kari K. gave it a10:
This was an uplifting movie with an awesome moral. Even if the story seems unbelievable it is nice to escape to a place where bad guys can become good.
Chase P. gave it a7:
I think this movie is alright. The Rock isn't the best actor, but the storyline to the movie is good! I just don't like how they copied Longest Yard!
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