Thursday 17 May 2012

Today's Review: Goon


I've dabbled in ice hockey before, but like all sports I am generally disinterested. I must say that it's a lot more entertaining than football or cricket in my opinion. I guess I just like American sports. When I found out this movie was about hockey, I wasn't sure what to think.

Scott plays Doug Glatt, a guy whose family are off working in fantastic careers while he's scraping by as a bouncer. He's not particularly bright, but the one thing he can do well is beat the crap out of people. After using his talent against an aggressive player at a hockey game he's watching, he is drafted into a team as an enforcer, a player who protects his team mates by fighting off opposing players. Before long he is sent to the minor leagues in order to help a once great player who has lost himself after being concussed on the ice by veteran ass kicker Ross Rhea (Live Schrieber).

Yes, Goon is a sports movie, but it's kind of the American Pie of sports movies, and I didn't just make that comparison because it's got Sean William Scott in it, although that was a large contributing factor. There's a load of swearing, some quite good jokes, and the amount of punches flying around could probably rival Rocky.

While I wasn't too enthralled at first, Goon did eventually draw me in. The performances are not too great, Scott kind of stumbles along while portraying Doug, with awkward stuttered lines. His character is supposed to be pretty stupid, but it feels like they went too far trying to portray him as such. Still, while Goon is an okay comedy movie, it's actually a pretty good sports movie, with some good hockey scenes, whether the players are scoring or punching each other. While the plot may plod along a little at first, it builds up to the satisfying showdown that is hinted at throughout. Goon was definitely different to what I thought it would be, but also quite surprising.

My rating: 4/5

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