Liev Schreiber and Seann William Scott duke it out in Goon. Courtesy of Alliance Atlantis
For most hockey fans, fighting is seen as part of the game. As barbaric as it seems, there is a sense of enjoyment when two players drop the gloves and duke it out. For the first time, a story of hockey’s all-important enforcer is being told.
Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott) was a mild mannered bar bouncer until he is recruited by a semi pro hockey team to protect one of their star players. Mild mannered only begins to describe how polite and kind Glatt is.
Such a character can be corny in the wrong hands. Luckily, Seann William Scott never once reeked of cheese which toned down the brutality of the on ice antics. Liev Schreiber (Defiance, Salt) plays his formidable rival to perfection with the added bonus of a superb Canadian accent (St. John’s, Newfoundland, to be exact).
I really enjoyed the screenplay adapted from the novel Goon: The True Story of an Unlikely Journey into Minor League Hockey by Jay Baruchel and Evan Goldberg. They gave all of the characters in the film charisma, and left out any unnecessary clichés. You can’t help but get caught up in the team spirit and heart of the movie.
I do have to warn all who do not deal with violence well; While the main character is sensitive, this movie features some pretty gruesome fight scenes. It’s definitely not for the faint of heart.
Bottom Line: A knock-out film not just for hockey fans.
Grade A-
Runtime: 92 minutes
IMAX: No
3D: No
