GRIDIRON GANG

"You don't know how to spell Mustang?"

Juvenile detention centre Camp Kilpatrick in California saw the same offenders returning to the camp or ending up dead on the streets. Sean Porter (The Rock) wants to change all this and other an alternative to just doing their time and returning to the gangs or getting caught straight back up in crime. He proposes that the camp should start an American Football team, with the inmates that are good enough to be a Mustang joining the local High School League but can rival gang members work together to win.

Sports movies can be inspiring and when you mix in social issues then you have a film has something inspirational to say but can 'Gridiron Gang' make you listen?

When you sit down to watch a sports movie you know exactly what you are going to get, especially when we are dealing with Hollywood. A coach is going to take a rag, tag team of misfits and transform them into a championship winning team. Whether it is basketball, baseball, ice hockey, soccer or American football, all it takes is an inspirational coach that believes in them to turn it all around and make them champions. Factual or fictional, you know exactly what you are going to get. Can 'Gridiron Gang' be any different?

Based on a true story and a dramatisation of the 1993 documentary of the same name, this is the story of the American Football team that transformed the lives of the inmates of juvenile detention centre Camp Kilpatrick. Camp supervisor Sean Porter and his assistant Malcolm Moore decide to bring some discipline and structure into their lives. It also gives them the chance to leave their gang loyalties behind and work as a team on the field. With confrontations both off and on the field, Sean Porter had his work cut out for him.

Former WWE superstar turned movie action star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has been lauded as the new Schwarzenegger or Stallone, bringing his huge frame and muscles to the silver screen and recreating the action hero heydays of the 1980s and 90s but 'Gridiron Gang' gives him the chance to show that he can actually act. As camp supervisor and coach Sean Porter, he gets the chance to bring a real life character to the silver screen and give him some more substance to his acting skills. The movie isn't all about the performance of a former wrestling superstar however it is about the young cast of up and coming stars that form the Gridiron Gang. There are standout performances from Jade Yorker as the most troubled Willie Weathers, Setu Taase as the inmate with the most anger Junior Palaita and a comedy driven turn from Brandon Smith as waterboy Bug Wendal.

'Gridiron Gang' is another inspirational sports movie about a coach that takes a group of misfits to the championship gang. This is based on a true story and shows again how sport can be a way of giving a purpose and goals to wayward individuals. These stories have become the stable part of Sports movie genre and while American audience may adore them, they struggle to play in the rest of the world but there is much to enjoy in this inspirational story.

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in Widescreen 1.85:1 Anamorphic with a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack, the transfer is good.

BONUS FEATURES

Commentary with the writer and director
Writer Jeff McGuire and Phil Joanou come together to provide a chatty commentary for 'Gridiron Gang'. The pair talks about the origins of the project and the original documentary. They talk passionately about the Camp Kilpatrick football team and how this is not supposed to be a feel good sports movie but one that had a real social message. They also reveal how the filmed at the actual camp itself and how the cast was made up of untried actors bringing a fresh approach to the story.

Deleted Scenes (23.10 mins)
Entitled 'Sean in trouble with Biga', 'Willie in jail', 'Sean gets phone call', 'Dexter criticises Sean', 'Kids write letters', 'Malcolm criticises Sean', 'Could have played pro-ball', 'Distracted by cheerleaders', 'The extra point', 'Asking for forgiveness', 'Kelvin scores a touchdown', 'They want to be cheerleaders', 'Madlock scores a touchdown', 'The big game' and 'Mustang mural', these deleted scenes have optional commentary with writer Jeff McGuire and director Phil Joanou.

Gridiron Gang: Football Training (6.20 mins)
Director Phil Joanou, stunt/football coordinator Alan Graf, ex-professional footballer Shane Stanley, screenwriter Jeff McGuire and stars Xzibit, David Thomas, Mo, Trever O'Brien, James Earl III and Setu Taase talk about the training they had to go through to be able to show full contact American football on screen.

Phil Joanou Profile (4.08 mins)
Screenwriter Jeff McGuire, producer Neal H. Moritz and star Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson talk about working with the director and what he brought to the project.

The Rock takes the Field (4.05 mins)
Director Phil Joanou and stars Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson and Xzibit talk about seeing the Rock back in pads for the first time since his College days.

Multi-angle: Football Scene
Watch the football sequences from five different angles

OVERALL

The DVD package for 'Gridiron Gang' is one that fans should get a lot of enjoyment out of. The commentary is very good and the behind the scenes featurettes, while a little short, cover most aspects of the film's production.

DVD

Coach Carter

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