See the Original

Rating: 4/10 (12 June 2005)

A remake of the 1974 classic The Longest Yard, this film features Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Burt Reynolds in a cons versus guards knockdown, drag-out, bare-knuckles brawl football game. However, if you've seen the original, you've already seen this film as well, but done much better.
The film centers around Paul Crewe (played by Sandler, but made famous by Reynolds), a former football all-star professional quarterback, who was forced to leave the sport after allegations of points-shaving surfaced. The film opens several years after the allegations, and Crewe is a kept-man. Forced jump at his girlfriend's every beckon call; Crewe flees their home intoxicated in his girlfriend's Bentley. A high-speed pursuit ensues, the car is totaled, and Crewe is incarcerated in a federal prison for three years.
The warden of the prison is an avid football fan, and the prison has its own semi-professional team. The warden wants Crewe to coach his team; however, the guards would prefer that he not. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Crewe eventually agrees to assemble an all-convict team to scrimmage against the guards; with one catch, Crewe has to play quarterback.
What a difference thirty years make. In the original, you could almost believe this premise. The film was set in some work-release prison in the bayous of the south, with chain gangs, and southern drawls; where you could almost feel the heat and desperation the convicts not to mention their total resentment toward the guards. In this remake, the conviction just isn't present; plus, I really find it exceedingly hard to believe that any state would sanction this game, much less it being televised on ESPN.
Anyways, I highly recommend watching the original, rather than this 21st century reincarnation of the same. However, if you feel the need to see Adam Sandler in a football film, defer to his hilariously funny The Waterboy! http://farisreel.com