52
Metascore
25 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 75PremierePremiereCan he (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson ) act? Surprisingly, for the most part, the answer is yes, and the film is a success for it.
- 63USA TodayStaff [Not Credited]USA TodayStaff [Not Credited]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.
- 58Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldSeattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam ArnoldUltimately, the script lacks the ambiguity, irony and heartfelt emotion that would make the conversion of a dozen hardened criminals very credible, and -- despite its obvious good intentions -- the movie seems pat, simplistic and slightly phony.
- 50Village VoiceVillage VoiceNever mind the obvious parallels to "The Longest Yard" and "Remember the Titans"; what we get here is one huge, indigestible sports movie platitude.
- 50Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanEntertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanParades itself as an ''honest'' message movie, a call for troubled kids to choose life over street nihilism, but the picture is so earnest that it leaves out the easy, old-school pleasure conjured by the last few years of Disney sports flicks (Invincible, Miracle, The Rookie).
- 50L.A. WeeklyScott FoundasL.A. WeeklyScott FoundasIn a true-life sports tale like the recent "Invincible," you buy into all the inspirational clichés because the characters have inner lives and the movie is about something bigger; here, you keep hoping for something bad to happen to somebody just for the sake of balance.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarrit IngmanAustin ChronicleMarrit IngmanThe film is a pleasant surprise.
- 50Chicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonChicago TribuneMichael WilmingtonAs sports movies go, Gridiron Gang isn't bad, just not top-line material.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterJames GreenbergThe Hollywood ReporterJames GreenbergGreat material, but the film never catches fire.
- 50The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisThe movie's good intentions are consistently undermined by its simplistic notion of redemption, and its inspirational thrust is diluted by an epilogue that suggests the program still has a ways to go in the life-altering department.