A Respectful and Entertaining Remake

Rating: 7/10 (13 July 2006)

I was initially very wary of seeing the remake of THE LONGEST YARD. The original film is a classic and one of my absolute favorite films in the world and there is no way I thought Adam Sandler or anyone else could do it justice, but I have to admit that this remake was a pleasant surprise. I found this 2005 remake of the 1974 classic to be a respectful and affectionate valentine to the original film with very few changes in the original story. As a matter of fact, executive producer Sandler had the screenplay tightened up from the original so that the audience is brought to the main story in a more direct manner than we were with the original. Crewe gets his order to organize the team from the warden during their first meeting in this film, which happens later in the first film. If you can accept Sandler as a pro football player then accepting the rest of this breezy and entertaining remake is no problem. Sandler delivers a nicely modulated performance that worked for me and Chris Rock, as always, steals every scene he's in as Caretaker. James Cromwell is acceptable as the slimy Warden, though he wasn't anywhere near as slimy as the late Eddie Albert was in the original. Sandler again pays homage to the film by casting its original star, Burt Reynolds, as Nate Scarborough, the role played by Michael Conrad in the original and even beefs the part up a little and Reynolds makes every moment on screen count. Sandler cleverly cast former pro football players and WWF wrestlers as various guards and convicts including Michael Irvin, Kevin Hall, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and Goldberg. Hip hopper Nelly also shines as a barefoot running back. All in all, a respectful remake that doesn't diminish the gloss of the original but manages to stand on its own as solid entertainment.