Movies

Gridiron Gang Review

I saw this at a screening two weeks ago and was pleasantly surprised.

 

The Rock stars as Sean Porter, former college football star and now a correctional officer at Camp Kilpatrick, a juvenile detention center for underage criminals. He gets tired of seeing 75% of the kids leave the camp and either wind up dead or in prison (real statistics). So he comes up with a way to instill pride and teamwork in some of the camp’s kids. His idea is for them to play football and learn what it’s like to actually earn something instead of simply stealing it. For a lot of them, there is animosity because they are members of rival gangs.

 

Through a lot of hardwork and effort the boys slowly learn to play football and eventually find a league to play in. Slowly but surely, the boys turn into men and they learn plenty of valuable lessons. Toss in plenty of great camera shots of football games and you have a pretty entertaining movie.

 

One of the nicest things about the move is that it’s based on a real story and one that continues to this day. During the end credits, there are interviews and clips of the boys who were in the program and what happened to them after their release. The inspirational thing is that many of them avoided the gang trap and went on to become citizens who contribute to society instead of take from it.