Mean Machine (2001)

Best movie ever!

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

The story rolls in nicely, building the necessary background on the reason why Meehan gets into jail. It also develops nicely by having the prison story details quite complete. We have the protagonist, the antagonist, the traitor, the inmate boss, the guards, and the sleazy warden. It comes complete with the loss, team bonding and trust building story elements, those classics of a prison story. Yet the finale competition swaps all the almost tense serious aura of the prison into a somewhat comedic display of violence, complete with the hooligan style music, and the hilarious commentaries. Vinnie Jones acted out quite okay for this movie. It's just about right because in some ways, it doesn't need an acting skill to play Danny Meehan because Vinnive Jones' previous football career was in quite the similar fashion and nature. Jason Statham, with its less dialog, did give a great color to this movie.

If sometimes just lacking the creativity and vitality of the 1974 film, this is an above average sports/prison drama. There are some flaws though, one or two of the characters are thinly sketched, the plot is a touch simplistic and the first half hour just lacked the energy of the latter half of the film. That said, this is well worth watching. The whole film is excellently filmed and directed, and the soccer scenes are very well done. The final third is absolutely riveting, and really makes you want to see what the outcome is at the end. The music score is fine, and the performances are very good. Vinnie Jones is convincing in his first leading role, and David Kelly is stellar as the benevolent Doc. The best pieces of casting are (despite the accent) Jason Statham as maverick keeper and Jason Flemying's rather unconventional commentator. In conclusion, this is a good film. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Based on Keenan Wynn's 'The Longest Yard', Fletcher adds Brit wit to the screenplay as Skolnick directs a splendid film. Of course the story isn't anything new (like most sports flicks) but the humour brings out the charm. The characters are fun to watch and funnily enough the actors have famously starred in Guy Ritchie films. It's as if they were in prison for the crimes they committed in those films. But, just to avoid any misconception, this isn't a crime-flick and it's very different from the Ritchie films, both in style and content. One doesn't have to be a football fan to enjoy it as the entertainment value is universal. The football match sequence was hilarious and if only the real matches were half entertaining! All the actors do a fine job but it is Vinnie Jones who carries the movie and it's nice to see him as a guy who gets beaten up in comparison to the tough guy roles he's typecast in. Overall, this is a fun little film, not one to be taken too seriously.

Of the three Guy Ritchie/Jason Statham combination films that I have seen (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels; Snatch; and this), this was probably the film I found the least entertaining.That is not to say, however, that I did not enjoy it.Mean Machine is a soccer film with a peculiar twist-- the teams are comprised of guards and convicts. Though this is a remake of sorts (The Longest Yard being the original), I have always been a fan of Britflicks and this is no different-- it exceeds the original in many ways.The trouble is, I am not sure I agree with the selection of Vinnie Jones as the lead. He is a strong actor, no doubt, but I think he better serves a film as a member of the supporting cast-- he cannot carry a film on his own. Instead, this film belonged to the supporting cast (Statham, especially.) Regardless, it is a great film to pass a couple of hours and to keep one entertained.8/10.