Gridiron Gang

2006 "One goal. A second chance."
7.1| 2h5m| PG-13| en| More Info
Released: 15 September 2006 Released
Producted By: Columbia Pictures
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Info

Under the leadership of their counselor, teenagers at a juvenile detention center gain self-esteem by playing football together.

Genre

Drama, Crime

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Gridiron Gang (2006) is now streaming with subscription on Paramount+

Director

Phil Joanou

Production Companies

Columbia Pictures

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Gridiron Gang Audience Reviews

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film
Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated
Console best movie i've ever seen.
ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.
jimbo-53-186511 Former American football star turned juvenile penitentiary manager Sean Porter (Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson) makes it his goal to train and give discipline to a bunch of no hope loser detention centre detainees. It's an uphill struggle for Porter at first, but through hard work and commitment he makes these kids learn that valuing oneself and being a team player can go an awful long way...From its brutal opening sequences to its rather touching (albeit predictable ending) Gridiron gang is a message film - admittedly one that is metaphorically emblazoned on its chest a little too much. It's a warm film and one with so much heart to it that it's almost impossible not to find oneself touched by it.The start of the film is very clichéd filled with practically undecipherable 'street dialogue' before this story-thread comes to a rather abrupt halt...Then we find ourselves in the detention centre and in steps Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson - a man who at this point in his career had only just left wrestling to form a career as an actor. At this particular juncture, Johnson was still trying to establish himself as an actor so perhaps this was his time to showcase his talents and to be fair he really takes the bull by its horns in this film. Yes we know he can do all the shouty tough-talking stuff and I'm sure he embraced the scene where one of the football team has to try and knock him down - it probably reminded him of his WWE days. However, Johnson is also good outside of the obvious and manages to give some heart and weight to the picture - the scenes with this mother are very touching.Not only is the film successful as a basic 'feel-good' story, but the film also benefits from strong characterisation; you find yourself indifferent to a lot of these juvenile detainees at the start of the film, but due to strong character development I found myself caring about them - the likes of Junior and Weathers have a lot to fight for, but it just takes them both a while to realise it and as a result of this their characters are particularly compelling.Gridiron gang remains a great film and one that opens our minds to the turf wars that are still wholly real in this day and age. The writers showcase that working as a team and being part of a team can often overshadow more trivial aspects of life (such as gang-warfare) and despite its slightly heavy-handed and clichéd approach it does achieve its goal and gets its message across in an entertaining and rather informative manner.
Austin Dillow I just finished this movie and here is what I think it for what it was which was a story about how a juvenile correction worker risks his job for a football program to help the convicts escape gang life. It was a touching movie in its emotional parts and an exciting one in its game sequences. It showed the struggle some have to go through to leave their gangs or even to survive in prison. If you are interested in an underdog story or a good sports movie this wouldn't be a poor choice. The Movie is based in California in the late 1980's to early 1990's in a correctional facility. One of the workers want's to start a football team in order to teach the kids about hard work and teamwork in order for them to have a chance for a future. It starts out looking like the program was going to fail. It currently has a gang return rate of only 8% before the program the return rate was over 68%. Duane Johnson was one of the main characters in the movie and I feel he did one of the best jobs for his character when it focused on his dying mother and his passion for coaching football. Sctu. Taase and his character was one of the key components for the movie as it starts out as him being violent and uncooperative to him changing and becoming a major part of the team. J. Yorker played Willie a gang youth arrested soon after the death of his cousin. David. V. Thomas plays the role of Calvin a rival gang member of Willies. In the more important scenes I didn't like how some of the acting was stiff, such as when Xzibit's character is convincing the christen coach to let them play against their team it seemed so stiff emotionally. I did like however the scenes where you could see the team slowly come together as it showed character progression. I disliked the character "Bug" because I found him annoying but that seemed on purpose. I think the story is about having the will to try and change who you are for the better and that second chances are sometimes what a person needs to succeed. It also warns of the dangers of gang life and the impact it can have of you and your family. I think one of its better lessons was that even if you do not win you are not a loser if you put your heart into it. I would recommend this movie to people who generally like underdog stories and football. I would hesitate to bring children to this film as it contains violence, swearing, and mild racism. If you watch football movies often you might notice some clichés such as the coach going too far and realizing what he did and apologizing to the team for it. All in all I rate this a 4/5. I rated it this because I noticed so many clichés and some scenes were just stiff in the acting but other scenes showed high tension very well. I am a student in the 11th grade at GCCC and who played football for over eight years before I quit after a concussion. They like reading, gaming, and sleeping.
aakeemtruss I have recently watch Gridiron Gang with my class. I thought the movie was pretty good. It told a good amount of information about each character. It was an inspirational movie. This movie could motivate you to do your best at anything.This movie is group of juvenile kids that were all caught doing something bad. From stealing a car to stabbing a old lady for money. There was one person that believe that he could change these kids from nothing to something. He was Sean Porter (Dwayne Johnson), he wanted to start a football program for the juvenile kids. But no high school team wanted to play against their team. But Sean Porter still did it anyways, knowing that a team will eventually play against them. The team's first practice didn't go so well. None of the kids could spell Mustang when they were doing jumping jacks. There were two people on the team that were gang rivals Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker) and Kelvin Owens (David V. Thomas). They could not get along with each other at all. Junior Palatia (Setu Taase) is one of the kids who wanted to play on the team but couldn't because of his bad attitude. Malcolm Moore (Xzibit) is the assistant coach that keeps the team up and together. This football team has to go through hell to figure out who they are and why they are going nowhere in life.The main characters that did a good job acting and had a big part in this movie is Sean Porter (Dwayne Johnson), Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker), Kelvin Owens (David V. Thomas), Junior Palatia (Setu Taase) and Malcolm Moore (Xzibit). Without these characters the movie would not be as great as it is. Sean Porter did a wonderful thing by bringing a group of juvenile kids together and turn them into something and not nothing. I would rate this movie a 4 out of 5 stars.
brefann My names Gang, Grid Iron GangI've just recently seen the movie "Grid Iron Gang", and would like to give my opinion of it. The movie is based on a true story of juvenile delinquents that can't stay out of the detention hall. They all have their own independent personalities that set them apart and bring them together at the same time. To summarize the story, the story is based in California, at a juvenile hall in the year 1988. The hall is having a hard time keeping their incoming numbers low, so Sean the coordinator decides to whip them into shape by forming a football team. In hopes of the rate of boys who come back after being released decreases. One of the main actors for the movie is Dwayne Johnson who plays Sean Porter. Dwayne does an excellent job of playing a no nonsense attitude toward a bunch of egotistical boys. Another of the great actors in this movie is Jade Yorker who plays a boy named Willie Weathers. He does a fantastic job of showing how a kid can go from a troubled gang member to a team player. The third actor is Xzibit who plays as Malcom Moore, who is an assistant coach with some impressive persuasion skills. The second to last actor is Setu Taase who plays Junior, a kid who always fights and thinks he rules the hall. The last but not least actor I'm going to mention is Kelvin who is played by David V. Thomas, he is a very good actor who helps you get a good gist of what the kid is feeling at all times. Some of the things I liked in this movie was how The Rock no matter how hard it got and how tired the boys were he always pushed them to do their best and not to let other people's words get them down. Another like of mine is how they wanted to get the boys to be success full in their lives and to not go back onto the streets to their gangs, but to go out and go to college and make something of themselves. One of my dislikes for this movie is how it took them so long to find a school to play them. Another one of my dislikes is how they shot one of the possible main characters within the first few scenes. The theme I got from the story was that you shouldn't let peoples opinion of you define who you are. I learned that no matter how tough your past was you can always make a better life for yourself. I think other people will pull multiple things from this movie but they will see how showing compassion for someone who has never felt it can help make them see better of themselves. I think the people who should see this film would be teenagers and adults who like to see change in a person, along with being a sports person without minding profanity. The only reason I would not recommend this story is the fact of someone not being a football fan. The rating I would give it is 4.5 stars because I am not much of a football fan. Bre is a junior in High School and likes to do color guard in the marching band. She likes to read and cook in her free time.