THE PLOT THUS FAR
Teenagers at a juvenile detention center, under the leadership of their counselor, gain self-esteem by playing football together.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Gridiron Gang” is another film about how football can help solve all societal problems. Hoodlum kids stop reigning havoc and buckle down to work as a team. The problem with these movies are that what they lack in story development makes them timeless. What changes this film from “Wildcats” or “The Bad News Bears”? Basically, it comes down to the decade and the social attitudes of the kids presented within the narrative. Everything else is so cliche and repeated that all members of the story lose perspective and become part of one giant narrative that puts most people to sleep.
Dwayne Johnson is a capable lead, however he can’t find that right movie. The problem with leading a movie like this is that you just have to look like a type and have a smidge of a personality. I can’t really tell you if there’s any adversity outside of random white people telling our heroes that they can’t do something. They say that they can and they prove the authority figures wrong. Everyone pats themselves on the back and it’s not long before you’re wondering why The Rock doesn’t hire someone to pick movies for him. You say that he’s in the Fast and Furious movies, I state that he isn’t the star. At least, we’ve got Hercules coming up. After all, the last Hercules movie made Kellan Lutz such a star. I think Martin might’ve heard of the guy by now.
The Blu-Ray comes with no special features. The A/V Quality is pretty standard for a Mill Creek HD release. The 1080p transfer shows off a bit more when compared to the older SONY Blu-Ray from 2007. That being said, the Dolby track is very lossy and nowhere near what I’d expect from a Blu-Ray release. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase to the curious.
RELEASE DATE: 07/22/2014