Absolutely Wonderful

Rating: 10/10 (24 June 2005)

This was one of the best movies i have seen in years. Sure, people complain that the humor is crude, the violence is unnecessary, and the prisoners are bad people portrayed as heroes, but that's not the point. the point is, these inmates all made mistakes at some time or other. Now they're stuck inside a prison with the cruelest, steroid-enhanced guards to ever walk the prisons, along with a greedy, spiteful warden (remind you of a certain movie? Hint: it starts with "the shawsh" and ends with "ank redemption"). they are sick and tired of taking the beating, the disrespect, the animal treatment. instead of revolting, they rebel in the best chance they can get: an organized sport. sure, it's macho. it's brutal. people like that. but that's not the flavor of the story. the flavor is in the sweet, sweet revenge, and the emotional roller coaster you go on for these guys. you feel their pain, you laugh at the jokes, you share their joy and anguish. you felt a knife stab to the heart when caretaker died; you felt your heart grow soft as the basketball gang joined up; and you got queasy whenever the warden approached. the prisoners developed something through the movie. before, they hated each other, hated the guards, the prison. but through football, they learned teamwork, friendship, and most of all: a sense of purpose. people desperately need that; it's a reason to live. they had a goal; they were determined to reach it. this is the inspiration that the movie is making. this is the core of the movie, and why it's so incredible. in my opinion, The Longest Yard is on par with classics like Remember the Titans.