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12/30/06
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Mean Machine (2002)
34
%
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Reviews Counted:56
Fresh:19
Rotten:37
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: Despite some genuine wit, this crowd pleaser is filled with too many cliches.
Theatrical Release:Feb 22, 2002 Limited
Synopsis: In this remake of THE LONGEST YARD, Robert Aldrich's 1974 Burt Reynolds prison tale concerning inmates who organize themselves into a football team and compete against the guards, British director... [More]
Starring: Vinnie Jones, David Kelly, David Hemmings, Ralph Brown
Director: Barry Skolnick
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Reviews for Mean Machine
Circumscribed on one side by its American precursor and on the other by the Ritchie style that Skolnick slavishly imitates.
02/27/02
Top Critic... a polished and relatively sincere piece of escapism.
02/26/02
It's mildly entertaining, especially if you find comfort in familiarity. But it's hardly a necessary enterprise.
03/09/02
Top CriticThe screenplay makes the best of its source material, and offers us some genuine wit.
01/20/02
It's guaranteed to make you laugh... but whether that's at it or with it is a matter of taste.
01/09/02
Worth a look as a curiosity.
03/01/02
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04/05/02
Mean Machine's tale of a disgraced soccer star who takes charge of a prison team benefits from solid pacing and acting.
02/23/02
Top CriticThis amiable picture talks tough, but it's all bluster -- in the end it's as sweet as Greenfingers ...
02/22/02
Jones ... does offer a brutal form of charisma.
01/09/02
A fairly enjoyable mixture of Longest Yard ... and the 1999 Guy Ritchie caper Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
03/08/02
... a lot of fun.
03/04/02
Top CriticHolds its ground as a mid-budget Hollywood knockoff.
07/20/02
The formula is familiar but enjoyable.
03/01/02
Top CriticIt's still a hoot, sports cliches, prison movie cliches and all.
03/14/02
There's just something about watching a squad of psychopathic underdogs whale the tar out of unsuspecting lawmen that reaches across time and distance.
03/14/02
A likably energetic star vehicle for English sports god Vinnie Jones.
03/14/02
A winning crowd-pleaser with more than enough juice to crossover with fans of all stripes, regardless of whether they even know anything about soccer or not.
03/03/02
Lager-sedated Brit-movie fans who can tough it out to the finale might let Mean Machine get by with only a few penalties, but anybody else will be yanking out the red card long before halftime.
02/22/02
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