Gridiron Gang Blu-ray delivers stunning video and reference-quality audio in this excellent Blu-ray release
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars in this gritty and inspirational movie based on a true story of a group of
teenage delinquents given a second chance to redeem themselves by playing football. Sean Porter (Johnson) is a
frustrated juvenile probation officer. Most of the kids in his detention camp are either sent back to prison once
they leave or meet a violent end when they return to the streets. Desperately looking for a way to make a
difference, he and his co-worker Malcolm Moore devise a plan to teach discipline and responsibility through the
game of football. But with only four weeks before the start of the season, Porter must overcome insurmountable
odds to put together a competitive team. It's a season that will test their minds, spirit, and bodies as Porter
teaches his players the principles of good character, strength through resiliency, and genuine respect for one
another.
You're no longer a Blood, you're no longer a Crip, no longer an esé. You're a Mustang.
Another day, another inspirational football movie. The one good thing about all of the recent
football movies like Invincible and We Are Marshall is that they are all actually pretty darn good. Each
features
a good, uplifting message on top of quality production values, acting, directing, and
solid entertainment. These films are sure to move you emotionally by the time the final credits
roll, too.
Gridiron Gang is no exception. It may turn off some viewers as
it features some heavier language than the other two, but make no mistake, it's every bit as
inspirational nonetheless.
The Gridiron Gang becomes a cohesive unit.
Like it's contemporaries, Gridiron Gang is based on a true story. The setting is Camp
Kilpatrick, a juvenile detention center housing members of rival gangs and kids who can't stay
out of major trouble. Malcolm Moore (Xzibit, Full Clip) and Sean Porter (Dwayne
Johnson, The Game Plan) are the supervisors and the only friends any of the kids
have, whether the kids want to believe or accept it or not. As the movie opens, Porter is forced
to discipline a
young man set to be released the next day. Upon his release, he is gunned down in a drive-by
shooting. His cousin Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker, Snow Day) is a witness. When he
arrives home, he sees his mother has once again been beaten by her boyfriend, and Willie shoots
him three times, killing him instantly. Willie ends up taking his cousin's spot at Kilpatrick and
finds himself in a the middle of a new plan to revitalize the program that Sean has devised. He
wants to form a football team. Objections are raised, notably that the detenion center is trying to
limit exposure to violence, but Sean persists, claiming that football will give them something to
focus their attention on, a method to let loose their tension and anger, and that the boys will
bond, crossing gang and ethnic lines as they form a single, unified group. As the story
progresses, the players go through various trials and tribulations, some members quit and rejoin
the team, they lose some games, they start to win, and, well, you know the drill.
I believe that football themed movies make for the best inspirational films. The camaraderie, the
teamwork, the pain, and the raw emotions of the sport will result in, if done correctly, a powerful
and compelling movie. Dwayne Johnson is no stranger to football. The ex-wrestler is also an
ex-collegiate athlete. He played defensive tackle for the 1991 Miami Hurricanes National
Championship team. We the audience are also no strangers to this genre of football movie. It
combines the inspiration theme seen in the above mentioned films with the prison-football angle
of The Longest Yard. The moral here is not only about improving one's own outlook on
life and the way it is lived but about becoming complete. As the fractured football team comes
together as one, so too do the fractured individuals become whole people with goals and
ambitions all the while having a place to let loose the angers and frustrations they have
encountered in the real world. The real pleasure here is watching Dwayne Johnson going
through a metamorphosis of sorts, showing a range as an actor he never demonstrated before,
having stared in only action vehicles such as The Scorpion King and Doom. He
puts on some pretty raw emotions here and plays a very believable role as the inspirational Sean
Porter. Johnson is quickly becoming one of my favorite actors and proving he's more than just a
well built body good at blowing things up.
Sony presents Gridiron Gang in its original 2.40:1 aspect ratio. This 1080p presentation
is
one of the finer transfers to date on Blu-ray. The film seems to be shot in a pseudo-documentary
"light" approach with some slightly shaky handheld camera work complete with some rapid but
small zooms. It's noticeable but not distracting and I felt it added a nice feel to the realism of the
movie, almost as if we were a participant in the film. Some viewers may be turned off by some
grain that is
present throughout, especially in darker scenes, but worry not. This disc is simply reproducing
what
you'd see with the original film stock, and the result is magnificent. Black levels are very good.
There are some borderline scenes where blacks are a tad crushed and some finer detail in dark
scenes is lost, but the disc generally handles these instances very well and there is no major
problems in this regard. The image overall is a stunner. As the movie begins, we are treated to a
fairly drab color scheme, mostly inside the dormitory and on the practice field. However, once the
first game is played, the lush greens of the gridiron and the vibrant hues of the uniforms really
strike
the viewer with high detail, sharpness, and cleanliness. Colors are rich and accurate, and
there is no color bleeding to be seen. Flesh tones too appear natural with close attention to high
detail
in
close-ups. The image is very sharp and crisp without resorting to edge enhancement. This is a
fine
transfer from Sony and is one of the many aspects that makes this Blu-ray version of Gridiron
Gang a champion.
Sony has one again provided for your listening pleasure an uncompressed PCM 5.1 soundtrack
running at 4.6 Mbps. The result is a robust and enthralling sonic experience that is one of the
best the format has to offer. Early on in the film one may think that this is a pretty run of the
mill affair. It's mostly dialogue save for a shooting, but the film takes off once cleats hit turf for
the Mustang's first game of the season. The first thing you'll hear is the incredibly lifelike crowd
noises. Cheers and screams fill the room and surround you, practically putting you in the
bleachers. Once the game starts, however, you may want to strap on some shoulder pads and
get ready for some hard, and I do mean hard hits that come into your living room. The
sounds of shoulder pads crashing, bones crunching, and bodies slamming into the turf makes for
an almost painful listening experience, but painful in a good way. You'll swear you're in the
middle of the action and the only thing that will keep you firmly entrenched in reality is that
you'll walk away from the movie without any bruises, dislocated fingers, or broken bones. It's
powerful stuff to be sure and demonstrates the vital importance of a powerful high definition
sound experience. Blu-ray offers it almost as a rule, others generally do not. Outside of the
games, dialogue is clear, natural, and never drowned. Bass is used to good effect, and surrounds
are active, adding to the atmosphere and enveloping nature of the track. If you love football, this
movie, or both, and you currently are not equipped to play uncompressed PCM tracks, this disc is
as good a reason as any to upgrade your system.
Sony has provided a nice, average round of supplements on this disc. First up is a feature
commentary track
with director Phil Joanou and writer Jeff Maguire. The track is pretty technical but there is quite a
bit of good detail here. They discuss writing an authentic script, finding actors for some of the
parts, and working with Dwayne Johnson and Xzibit. The track starts off slow but it picks up
momentum and it'll draw you in. This is a very nice track that is a wonderful compliment to a
very good movie.
Next up are 15 deleted scenes (1080p, 23:19) with optional commentary from Joanou and
Maguire. Gridiron Gang: Football Training (480p, 6:20) is a nice feature that shows the
actors getting in shape mentally and physically to play convincing football and shooting the film to
make the football action as exciting as possible.
A Phil Joanou Profile (480p, 4:08) is just what it sounds like it is: a short piece that looks
at the director's take on the film and its messages. The Rock Takes the Field (480p,
4:10) is a look behind-the-scenes of Dwayne Johnson's scene where he challenges Willie
Weathers on the practice field in a full pads, full contact confrontation. Multi-Angle: Football
Scene allows you to look at five different angles of the same scene. Pretty nifty. Finishing
the supplements are trailers for Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Click, Little Man, Into the Blue, and a Blu-ray promotional montage. I don't know how
feasible it would have been, but I wish the 1993 documentary that this film is based on could
have been included.
Gridiron Gang is another offering in the recent surge of the "Inspirational Sports" genre.
Perhaps the
grittiest of the bunch, it portrays a group of inner city youths who put their hatred aside to become
something special--a football team that learns to work together as one to become something great.
It shows how the power of belief and faith in an idea can engender greatness. Dwayne Johnson
gives
perhaps the best performance of his still burgeoning career as the catalyst for the formation of the
team. His depiction of Sean Porter is tough yet heartfelt. It's not Oscar caliber, of course, but it
shows the musclebound actor has good range and is undoubtedly destined for good things down the
road. This is an excellent Blu-ray disc all around. Great audio and video quality and a fair helping of
supplements support this fine movie. Recommended.
