A British remake of an American movie, there is quite a lot to like here, not least that it is quite funny at time.
Vinnie Jones is, it must be said, not the greatest actor in the world, but he does have screen presence, and he has decent soccer skills (no surprise there). The rest of the cast out-act him, though, with the exception of Jason Statham who should never have been asked to perform with a Scots accent. Jason Statham is to Scots accents as Seth Rogen is to ballet.
The film is a game of two halves, Brian, the first half being training and the second half being the match itself. And,while the outcome is never in any real doubt, the match is managed sufficiently well to keep up a decent level of suspense as to what will happen, especially when David Hemmings' weaselly prison governor weighs in with a late penalty (so to speak).
Good, undemanding fun.
Vinnie Jones is, it must be said, not the greatest actor in the world, but he does have screen presence, and he has decent soccer skills (no surprise there). The rest of the cast out-act him, though, with the exception of Jason Statham who should never have been asked to perform with a Scots accent. Jason Statham is to Scots accents as Seth Rogen is to ballet.
The film is a game of two halves, Brian, the first half being training and the second half being the match itself. And,while the outcome is never in any real doubt, the match is managed sufficiently well to keep up a decent level of suspense as to what will happen, especially when David Hemmings' weaselly prison governor weighs in with a late penalty (so to speak).
Good, undemanding fun.