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Gridiron Gang [DVD] [2007]
 
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Gridiron Gang [DVD] [2007]

DVD ~ Dwayne Johnson
4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
RRP: £15.99
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Product details

  • Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Xzibit, L. Scott Caldwell, Leon Rippy, Kevin Dunn
  • Directors: Phil Joanou
  • Writers: Jac Flanders, Jeff Maguire
  • Producers: Amanda Lewis, Lee Stanley, Lynwood Spinks, Michael I. Rachmil, Neal H. Moritz
  • Format: Anamorphic, PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: 12
  • Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: 4 Jun 2007
  • Run Time: 120 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005JP9C
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 4,462 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #71 in  DVD > Sports

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Reviews

Amazon.com

In Gridiron Gang, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson once again displays far more cinematic charisma than one could expect from a former professional wrestler. Sean Porter (Johnson, Be Cool), a football player turned juvenile detention counsellor, wrestles with a seemingly insolvable problem: The vast majority of young men who leave detention fall right back into crime. Seeking a way to give these not-yet-hardened kids a taste of self-esteem and discipline, Porter persuades his superiors to let him teach the kids football--and then take on high school teams. Though based on a true story (documentary footage over the closing credits reveals that some dialogue was lifted straight from the real Sean Porter's mouth), Gridiron Gang is pure underdogs-overcome-adversity formula. A formula is not necessarily a bad thing; when executed with skill and commitment, fulfilling a classic story mechanism can be perfectly satisfying, and Gridiron Gang qualifies. But it's Johnson who carries it through, demonstrating--in the most unlikely of roles--a surprisingly gentle touch. Johnson manages to be manly without overbearing machismo, earning not only respect but empathy. --Bret Fetzer


Synopsis

In 1990, coaches Sean Porter and Malcolm Moore took the Kilpatrick Mustangs--an American football team of hardcore juvenile offenders from California’s Camp Kilpatrick juvenile detention centre--through their inaugural season, in which they reached the regional championships. In 1993, an Emmy-winning documentary, GRIDIRON GANG, aired on U.S. television. In this fictionalised version of the same name, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson stars as Porter, the coach who uses sports as a means to instil self-esteem into a group of boys for whom crime is a way of life. A former troubled youth who used football as a means to stay off of the streets, Porter, along with Malcolm Moore (Xzibit) now presides over Camp Kilpatrick, where the inmates are gang members, murderers, and drug dealers. Among them are Willie Weathers (Jade York), a gang member doing time for a botched act of revenge. Showing that old rivalries hold true even away from the streets, fellow inmate and rival gang member Calvin Owens (David Thomas) won’t let Willie forget that they are sworn enemies. But once Porter introduces American football as an outlet, the common goal of winning unites them in ways that no one expected. Director Phil Joanou (STATE OF GRACE) keeps the proceedings gritty, giving us not only the uplifting and exciting American football sequences, but also a handful of heart-pounding--and somewhat graphic--scenes of gang violence, and former Yes member Trevor Rabin’s effective score is a nice alternative to the typical pop soundtrack. Not all sweetness and light, GRIDIRON GANG is fine addition to the realm of cinematic sports, levelling the more sentimental aspects of the film with a copious counter-dose of realism.

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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
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 (5)
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 (7)
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Average Customer Review
4.2 out of 5 stars (13 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, 11 April 2007
By O. Doyle "celticshedevil" (Ireland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Gridiron Gang is based on the true story of juvenile detention camp probation officer Sean Porter (The Rock), who is frustrated at seeing the teenage felons that he is responsible for at Camp Kilpatrick either reoffending and going to prison or dying through their gang affiliations. As a former college football star Porter decides to form a football team in the hope that it will teach the inmates to be winners instead of losers for the first time in their lives. Porter and probation officer, Malcolm Moore (Xzibit) become the coaches with a tough task of getting the inmates to give up their rivalries and unite as a team.

Far from being just another football movie Gridiron Gang gives you a good look into the lives and attitudes of teenage gang members and the mindset that has been instilled in them that their gang is their life. By playing football Coach Porter gives them a second chance to make their lives mean something and the ending of the film plays like a documentary where the real people behind the story talk about how their life turned out after their time in Camp Kilpatrick. I think its only then that you realize that this isn't just another movie but a real life story of triumph and tragedy.

I think The Rock came into his own in Gridiron Gang and after seeing excerpts from the real Coach Porter I thing the Rock not only did him justice but did it so well that he made the part his own. Xzibit was also outstanding and I think these two made a great team. All in all a really enjoyable movie which stands out as `not just another football movie'.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Surprisingly good., 18 Jun 2007
By L. Hay "Saturnicus" (Scotland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
As a mega wrestling fan I am always eager to see Superstars on the silver screen and I was not disappointed. The Rock gives a first class performance as the football coach who dedicates himself to trying to turn around the lives of the young offenders in his charge. He endeavours to turn losers into winners by taking them away from the gang culture through teaching them self respect.
Rocky is ably supported by an excellent cast. This is a football film I thoroughly enjoyed even though I know nothing about the American game. At times it is heart wrenching, the mundane music score adding to the atmosphere. It is the best film I have seen in a long time, well deserving a mention at the Oscars. Sadly the best films always go unnoticed.
DO NOT MISS THIS ONE!
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10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars "We're not losers, we're better than that!", 17 Jan 2007
By M. J Leonard "MikeonAlpha" (Silver Lake, Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Gridiron Gang [UMD Mini for PSP] [2007] [US Import] (UMD Mini for PSP)
It's clichéd and formulaic and there isn't much suspense or tension because we know from the outset that this football team in some respect will ultimately triumph, but despite its faults The Gridiron Gang mostly works, mainly due to the sterling and quite genuine performance by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.

Gridiron Gang's rousing plot revolves around the rebirth of a group of colorful, rebellious young felons at a California juvenile detention camp. Branded as "losers" by the world around them - both inside and outside the center - they are gradually molded into a winning team by their hard-driving probation officer/coach, Sean Porter (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson).

Sean has been frustrated at the lack of inspiration by the County officials in trying to rehabilitate some of the worst offenders, most are ex-gang members and some are murderers. Sean himself is an ex-jock, once a star football player, who while coping with his dying mother is also frustrated by the revolving door recidivism and increasing mortality rate of his teenage charges.

Under the wary and somewhat suspect gaze of his superiors, he forms a ramshackle football team, which is soon competing against local high schools. Their first match is a disaster, but somehow Coach Porter keeps them together as they all become proud "Mustangs" with extraordinary skill as they train for their final game against a mean championship team given to dirty play and racial epithets.

The film doesn't hold a lot of surprises, but it's well-made and well-acted by the plucky supporting cast who are based in real-life players such as Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker) and his rival-gang foe, future defensive star Kelvin Owens (David Thomas). The best thing about Gridiron Gang is the performance of Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. He is engaging, affable and wholly believable as a former football star turned officer in a juvenile detention center. And he's also such a MAN!

Although, at times Porter drives them a bit too hard, you are always sure he as the best of intentions as he tries ardently to show them that it's far harder to play aggressively as a team in a game like football than it is to live as a gang member where the rules are often defined by pulling out a gun and shooting somebody. He figures teaching kids discipline and teamwork just might keep them out of trouble.

And, since this is based on a true story, we learn his instincts are right. Riveting football sequences save some of the movie from its trite leanings. Even though the movie is formulaic, Gridiron does manage to entertain, whilst also making a powerful point about the faults inherent in the penal system, particularly for youths with hopes of rehabilitation. Mike Leonard January 07.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing.
I love sports dramas, and I've played football so I should be this films target audience. So why didn't I enjoy it?

Put simply, it was dull and unconvincing. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Prof TBun

5.0 out of 5 stars Gridiron...
This film was a real surprise- although I am a fan of Dwayne "The Rock". Liked the story- being based on a true one and found it inspiring - in a funny way
Published 3 months ago by Maelstrom Fan

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good
As a gridiron fan this struck and immediate chord with me.
However, what impressed me more, is it based on a true story. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Dodster

4.0 out of 5 stars So good it could only be true
Based on the true story of probation officer and ex college football player Sean Porter and his attempt to rehabilitate a group of teenage delinquents. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. Matthew Sheen

4.0 out of 5 stars Not just for boys
Having started to watch this movie without too much idea what it was actually about (husband's choice!) I was pleasantly suprised to find it a thoroughly enjoyable film. Read more
Published 9 months ago by Mrs. Lynsay Mills

4.0 out of 5 stars Likeable sports drama
Gridiron Gang has lots going for it. It's not exactly just a sports movie, it's also a social drama. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Kerry Marsh

4.0 out of 5 stars Hard-hitting real life story
Dwayne Johnson shows once again that his flamboyant wrestling character "The Rock" was easily transferrable into a successful movie career. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Malcolm Clarke

5.0 out of 5 stars The rock continues with good films.
The Rock chooses another good film to continue his so far strong new career. This is a good film. Not groundbreaking, but a good underdog story. Read more
Published on 10 Oct 2007 by Mr. R. A. Booth

4.0 out of 5 stars "Then let's try the impossible, because the possible just ain't working"
The concept of creating a movie based on "problem" kids and a mentor guiding them to the good path is not novel. Read more
Published on 28 Sep 2007 by Sebastian Fernandez

4.0 out of 5 stars [3.5]--Good underdog story
I'm not going to lie to you. This film is heavily clichéd. Somehow though it still managed to strike some nerve in me. Read more
Published on 26 Jun 2007 by Jenny J.J.I.

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