Rating: R
Genre:
Comedy
Release Date: 07/16/2002
SubTitles: English
Dubbed: English
Sound: DD5.1
Run Time: 99 Minutes
Flags: Violence, Adult Situations, Adult Language, Adult Humor, Profanity
Distributor/Studio: Paramount
The classic
Burt Reynolds football-behind-bars flick
The Longest Yard crosses the pond and gets an appropriate British accent in the process in this rough-and-tumble mixture of sports and
action-comedy.
Danny Mehan (
Vinnie Jones) was one of the biggest stars in British football (what Americans call soccer), until he was caught rigging a game during a championship tournament. In the wake of this scandal,
Danny's career takes a nosedive and his life spins out of control, until he finally ends up in prison for three years on an assault and battery conviction.
Danny discovers there are a number of football fans behind bars who still hate him for fixing the game, but
Danny has one powerful fan in this prison. The warden (
David Hemmings) is a devoted football supporter with a taste for gambling; he's been trying to assemble a semi-pro team comprised of the prison's guards, but
Danny is just smart enough to know this would seal his fate with his fellow prisoners. Instead, he offers to put together a team of inmates, who can play practice games against the guards. A new inmate,
Sykes (
John Forgeham), gets wind of
Danny's idea and arranges an exhibition match between
Danny's new team and the guards, though
Sykes' motivation is more than just good fun. A powerful bookie,
Sykes lost a fortune on the game
Danny threw, and expects betting to be heavy for this game. If
Danny and his men win,
Sykes could make back the fortune he lost, but if the guards come out ahead,
Danny's goose is cooked. Can
Danny turn a gang of losers, misfits, and violent psychopaths -- including muscle-bound lunatic
Monk (
Jason Statham), creepy but loyal
Billy the Limpit (
Danny Dyer), tough guy
Massive (
Vas Blackwood), pyromaniac
Nitro (
Robbie Gee), and enthusiastic but out-of-shape
Raj (
Omid Djalili) -- into a proper team with a fighting chance of winning?
Mean Machine was produced by
Matthew Vaughn, who was also behind
Guy Ritchie's tough-but-stylish
crime comedies Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and
Snatch. Star
Vinnie Jones, by the way, enjoyed a career as a professional footballer in Great Britain before turning to acting.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
;)
