Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #143970 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-01-16
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Colour, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Polish, Korean, Arabic
• Dubbed in: French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.20 pounds
• Running time: 125 minutes

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

Customer Reviews

Excellent
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'.

Surprisingly good.
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!

"We're not losers, we're better than that!"
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.