Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 125 minutes
by Brian J. Murphy The Movie Although most movies are predictable, this one really takes the cake. I saw it coming, oh yes I saw it coming. I saw it coming from a mile away, the score, the acting, the storyline, the characters and the climax. I saw it, you saw it, we all saw it and with all that being said, I actually liked the darn film. For all its cheesy, cliched dialogue and shameless attempts at getting you to drop some tears, Gridiron Gang is not that bad of a film. For one, the film is quite gritty and I like gritty. Set in the Los Angeles area, Camp Kilpatrick is a youth detention center where some convicted juveniles are sent to carry out their sentences. The majority of these youths have strong gang ties and many conflicts within the facility erupt. The film opens with a violent beat down because one of the inmates disrespects another ones set. The film has a good balance between football and an actual storyline. Coach Sean Porter, played by Dwayne Johnson, is the hard-nosed, but caring coach that comes up with the idea that if he can get the kids to believe in something, other than the streets, they will have a fighting chance once they are released from the camp. His noble notions are correct, but his idea does not come with some serious hurdles. Like who the heck will the team play? Coach Porter goes on a predictable interviewing mission, getting turned down by just about everyone he ask to play his team. Of course, he finds one coach that has a heart and the first game is set. One thing the that film does is remind you of the incredibly senseless violence that takes place on the streets of south central Los Angeles. The scene that hit home hardest for me, was when two young men from rival gangs were arguing and could not really recall the origin of their war. The scene really illustrates how countless young Black and Hispanic males have died for absolutely no reason at all. The movie plays out as one would expect. The team, which goes by the Mustangs, progressively improves as each game is played. Several players also emerge to be heros as the season goes on. My biggest problem with the film was actually the score. Trevor Rabin’s music felt extremely canned, almost as if he was saving a better composition for another film. I am sure he worked long and hard on it, but it certainly did not come across that way. Kind of like a first draft John Williams may have done twenty years ago. To the films credit, the casting was well done. I felt the characters were extremely real, simply because they were. Many of the actors had never acted in a film and were at one time the very people they were portraying. The authenticity and surprisingly powerful performances by Johnson and Xzibit saved the film in the end. I guess predictable and ‘feel good’ is not a bad thing after all. The Extras The deleted scenes sections contains 15 different scenes that did not make the cut. Most are the usual, it does not advance the storyline type stuff. One scene in particular that may have added to the movie is ‘Mustang Mural’ here the kids paint a picture on a wall of an ‘M’ with horse superimposed in the ‘M’. The kids soon breakout in a friendly paint fight, as Coach Porter looks on and laughs. It added a nice human element to some characters that appeared to be pretty hardened. The other 14 scenes were clearly where they belonged. Commentary with the writer (Jeff Maguire) and director (Phil Joanou) was simply unwatchable. It was supposed to be a play by play of the movie while these two provided color for each scene. Mmm, I don’t think so my friends, if anyone can sit through more than ten minutes of this I would be quite surprised. They do talk about a few interesting facts, such as, they had to install barb wire around the school fences to make it look more intimidating. I am sure there were a few other interesting things that they may have said, but their voices made it too much of a chore. The Gridiron Gang football training section is the type of stuff that should be limited to DVD extras. Here we take an in-depth look at how the actors trained for a three week period to make all of the football scene look real. Even if you are in the entertainment industry and are use to being on a set, there was a thing or two to be learned here. The producers hired Alan Grant, a football and stunt coordinator to whip the kids into shape. The section detailed the multiple plays the actors had to learn and the many hours of practice they had to endure. The Phil Joanou Profile section gives the director the opportunity to wax philosophy on how he wanted to shoot the film and how he wanted the camera to create a certain emotion. I did appreciate his compassion for the people that he was working with and portraying. The Rock Takes the Field, analyzes the scene where Johnson gets dressed up in full football gear to battle a kid that is lacking confidence. The scene came across somewhat corny in the movie, but makes more sense once you see this section. Since Johnson use to play football in college, he eagerly jumped at the opportunity to put a uniform back on. The Multi-Angle football scene section, allows viewers to look at the same scenes that are in the movie, but with different camera angles. This section is pretty creative in that it almost has a video game feel to it. Being that the video game industry is what it is, this was a smart move by the producers. The featurettes for this DVD get a passing grade off of creativity and effort alone. Seeing something different with extras is always breath of fresh air, especially when dealing with a delicate subject matter.

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