Goon: Last of the Enforcers (2017)

The Worst Film Ever

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Expected more

Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

If you are checking out the sequel to Goon, then odds are you watched and liked the original. I've watched the first Goon about twenty times on Netflix. I'd place it in the top twenty all time of sports movies. I really wanted to get behind this movie but ultimately it falls flat. The script isn't bad - in fact it touches on some great ideas: what becomes of a hockey enforcer after they retire? What happens to players when you get older and maybe aren't quite as fast or strong? What would Hot Ice have been in the YouTube age? What do we give up when we start a family and have to think about other people instead of just ourselves? All of these are interesting questions to explore in a sports movie, unfortunately none of these ideas are really fleshed out. Most are brought up in conversation then dropped. Jokes, which mostly fall flat, are squeezed around these ideas along with a father/son relationship between the owner of the Halifax Highlanders and the new antagonist to Doug Glatt. Almost all of the original cast returns for this film which is both a good and bad thing. Most of them do exactly the same thing as they did in the first movie. Others, such as Allison Pill's Eva spend most of the movie asleep (both literally and figuratively).The Hockey elements of the story really aren't very good. The lock out story line makes no sense whatsoever. The PA announcer also tells us the Highlanders only made the playoffs 2 times in the last 10 years. So they team went back to being awful after the original Goon? I never felt as if I were invested in the Highlanders like I was in the first movie. There is a lot less hockey in this one so that might be a reason. Another might be the strange timeline in which the movie zooms through weeks at a time and you really have no sense of what is taking place along with players moves which simply don't make sense. The Highlanders are supposed to be one step below the NHL, at that level you simply don't acquire and release players just because you want them or don't. Liev Schreiber does stand out in his return as Ross Rhea. His character was my favorite part of the movie. A better version of this movie follows Rhea and Glatt and explores in more detail some of the questions it clearly was trying to raise. I wish they could get a do over and take another try at this.

This review of Goon: Last of the Enforcers is spoiler free** (2/5)YOU CAN'T DISMISS the idea that Michael Dowse's Goon was a success, it was light, accessible and there was an incredible performance from the always likable Seann William Scott as enforcer Doug 'The Thug' Glatt, who's better with fists than sticks and it was undoubtedly funny. Unfortunately there were a couple of problems namely Jay Baruchel, sure he's a cracking voice actor (notably as How To Train Your Dragon's Hiccup). But he was on his lowest form as Glatt's best friend he was unfunny, idiotic and very silly. His weak script didn't help either. So, in theory for his directorial debut Goon: Last of the Enforcers he should have perhaps learned. And for a while he has, William Scott returns to top form as the titular character still faithful to his team the Halifax Highlanders, keeping his form with his quick witted gags through his gimmicks to his mannerisms. And maybe punching the brains out of whoever stirs him wrong. Until he finds that his status is in danger with the introduction of a newer, younger, tougher player Anders Cain (Russell), after an injury he's forced to retire. He needs to find a new job to look after his pregnant wife (Allison Pill).This stunning opening is sadly short-lived due to gross-out gags, amateurish direction and awful character study that fail to slide smoothly across the ice. There's an under-written turn in insurance for Doug, an underwhelming training montage with returning player Liev Schreiber's hard-hitting brawler Ross Rhea who tells him to "just hit with the left" that's sadly left empty and gasping for energy. However Goon: Last of the Enforcer's biggest let down is Wyatt Russell's Cain, granted he's brutal in his punches, but his jokes fail to hit the penalty box rubbing away the endearing charm of Doug with his over aggression of expressions and his lumberjack beard. While this is a mostly generic, horribly written sports-quel as you'd expect there's an incredible performance from William Scott who continues to be the show-stopper by giving much deserved levity. Particularly in the third act's redemption hockey match giving his character a much deserved and an emotional farewell ending the film on a high note. Sadly writer-director Baruchel's debut is a poorly written, misguidedly directed and a boring redemption sequel that bombards its top player with bad ideas, and yet another stinky cameo. The truth this is an unfunny sequel that didn't need to be made.VERDICT A generally fantastic William Scott is brought down by a weak script, poor direction and unfunny gags in this disjointed and dreadful sequel.

I didn't go in watching this with high expectations but i did expect it to be good. Boy was I wrong. It seems every character from the first film lost major braincells and all act completely retarded going for cheap laughs. Potty humor at its worst. Every scene seems over the top outrageous and nothing seems genuine. The acting seemed very forced. My lady and I cringed at how horrible some scenes were and plot is incredibly predictable. The only good thing about this movie was the trailer. Even the fight scenes are overly dramatic this time around. Save your time and money. Don't be a victim like me.

I enjoyed Goon quite a bit when it was released in the U.S. five years ago. However, it doesn't have the replay value of such other great hockey comedies like Slap Shot or even The Mighty Ducks. It's still a funny movie; I just don't necessarily love it like other sports movie fans do. I'm sure some fans of Goon will be disappointed with Goon: Last of the Enforcers, as the sequel definitely emphasizes story over the profane antics of the original and the joke quotient isn't as high, but it's a better written, more strongly directed, and altogether more confident film than the first.With Goon: Last of the Enforcers, Seann William Scott has succeeded in making Doug "the Thug" Glatt his signature character, eclipsing Stifler from the American Pie movies. Scott's performance is so good here that it almost feels like watching a new actor on screen. Scott doesn't portray Doug quite as intellectually stunted as he was in the first. The whole theme of Goon: Last of the Enforcers is growth and the potential for a person to evolve and Scott is able to sell this with a more subtle performance than audiences are used to seeing from him. The message of the movie could have been heavy handed as most messages in sports films are, yet director/co-writer/co-producer/co-star Jay Baruchel has a firm enough handle on the material that everything mostly works.Goon: Last of The Enforcers does have some problems in its middle section. There are scenes that go on too long (a lot of scenes with Wyatt Russell's abrasive character could have been trimmed) and Elisha Cuthbert's character isn't given a whole lot to do, but this is still a solid directorial debut. The fight scenes are easier to follow and more exciting than those in the first movie. There are still plenty of funny low-brow jokes carried over from the style of Goon but Baruchel seems more selective about where he places them. And, most importantly, there seems to be less reliance on sports clichés' this time around, although the one obligatory training montage is thankfully set to Stan Bush's "Dare" playing on the soundtrack.Comedy sequels are notoriously hard to pull off. They are often unnecessary retreads that don't deliver. Goon: Last of the Enforcers is one of the very rare comedy sequels that works much better than the original. It's funnier, more character driven, and more entertaining. In the United States, the film is unlikely to receive the attention it deserves but hopefully there will be enough love to make a Goon 3 possible. 7.5/10