The Longest Yard

Plot synopsis:
Paul Crewe (Adam Sandler) is a former NFL player who, one night, gets drunk and goes joyriding in his girlfriend's Bentley, crashing it. It is revealed that he was arrested for shaving points in a big game, although it was never proven.
In prison, Warden Rudolph Hazen (James Cromwell), wishing to boost his prison's reputation for future elections as State Governor, uses threats and confinement in a hot box to coerce Crewe into helping the prison guards' football team, led by the hostile Captain Knauer (William Fichtner). Crewe informs Hazen that what Hazen's team needs is a tune-up game to boost the guards' confidence, and is therefore coerced to form an inmate team to play against the guards. He does so with the help of a newfound friend, Caretaker (Chris Rock). They start off with a poorly organized team, before being noticed by another prisoner, former college football star Nate Scarborough (Burt Reynolds), who decides to help coach the team by gathering several intimidating inmates as a boost to the team's strength.
Caretaker tells Crewe that they need more "brothers" on the team. When Crewe goes to the basketball court to ask the black inmates to join the team, their leader, Deacon Moss (Michael Irvin) rebuffs him. Crewe challenges Deacon to a one-on-one basketball game, saying that if he wins, the brothers will join the team, and if Deacon wins, Crewe will leave them alone. Deacon accepts, and despite Deacon's undisguised personal fouls in which he elbows, punches or grabs Crewe, Crewe continues without complaint, because the match is a question of pride and respect. On the game-winning shot, Crewe cleanly steals the ball from Deacon and scores, but Deacon calls a foul. Realizing he wouldn't be allowed to win, Crewe lets Deacon score the final shot. Although Deacon beats Crewe, one of the brothers, a fast runner named Earl Megget (Nelly), impressed with Crewe's decision to take the beating, joins the football team as its running back. When the guards learn of this, they confront Earl in an attempt to provoke an assault by him by saying the racial epithet "nigger", but Earl does not allow himself to be provoked despite intimidation and minor abuse. Having witnessed this, the other "brothers", including Deacon, decide to join the team too.
Hazen and the guards continue attempts to hinder Crewe's team by flooding their field, but the team decides to practice in the mud anyway.
Inmate Unger (David Patrick Kelly) spies on the activities of the inmates and after being pressured by the guards, rigs Crewe’s radio with an explosive. Caretaker unknowingly enters the cell to give a photo gift to Crewe, but is killed when he tries to turn the dial on the radio.
On game day, the inmates are revitalized in the wake of Caretaker's murder when Crewe reveals Caretaker's last gift to the team, quality gear and uniforms from his cousin at Reebok with the team name "Mean Machine" on the uniforms. The Mean Machine overcomes a rough start, due to individual inmates' attempts to retaliate against guards for the abuse they've suffered. Crewe angrily tells the inmates that winning the game is more important and will damage the guards more than their personal grudges, and gets them to play as a team. The first half ends with the score tied. The angered Hazen informs Crewe in private that if he does not lose he will be charged for Caretaker's murder. Crewe acquiesces to Hazen's threat, asking that the guards refrain from using excessive force on the field after getting a comfortable lead, to which Hazen agrees to do so after they obtain a two touchdown lead. After Crewe fakes an injury in order to leave the field, his teammates voice their displeasure over his obvious deserting over the team.
After seeing that Hazen has broken his promise and two members of the Mean Machine are injured, Crewe asks Skitchy if the time spent in jail for punching the warden was worth it. Skitchy replies, "It was worth every goddamn second," and inspired Crewe returns to the field. The team initially doubts Crewe’s resolve and allows him to be sacked twice. After running for a first down on 4th and Long, Crewe, realizing that his inmates are still not protecting him due to his prior actions, calls a huddle, and admits to the point shaving that disgraced him, and to the injury that he faked as a result of Hazen's threat, and sabotage to the other inmates, and asks for their forgiveness, putting his hands in the middle of all of them. Moss puts his hand in, followed by the rest of the team.
The Mean Machine, united again as a team, quickly scores two touchdowns to cut the guards' lead to 35-28. After Megget is injured after a long run, Scarborough comes in for one play as replacement and scores a touchdown off a trick play involving a fumble called a Fumblerooski. Mean Machine decides to go for the two-point conversion and the win. As they get up to the line they seem to be confused, and Crewe and Scarborough start arguing in order to trick the guards. Moss gets the snap and passes it to Crewe, who scores the winning conversion, winning the game. Knauer, with a newfound respect for Crewe, tells him that he showed extraordinary nerve, and lets him know that he will vouch that Crewe had nothing to do with Caretaker's death.
Hazen admonishes Knauer for losing a fixed game and notices that Crewe is heading towards the exit. Eagerly implying Crewe is trying to escape, Hazen orders that Crewe be shot for attempting to escape. Knauer hesitates and at the last moment realizes (and scornfully tells Hazen) that Crewe is only picking up the game football, losing a lot of respect for Hazen as he's left with a shocked look on his face. Crewe returns it to Hazen, telling him to "stick it in [his] trophy case." Moss (Michael Irvin) and Joey Battle (Bill Goldberg) give Hazen a Gatorade shower, and when he tells them that this has earned them a week in the hot box, Battle defiantly yells "Who gives a shit?!"

Tags: entertaining, revenge, comedy, murder, melodrama

Review:
This time, we have Adam Sandler who plays the incarcerated quarterback that Burt Reynolds played in the original.
Sandler is not one of my favorite actors, but I have to give him his props because I am starting to see that he usually stars in movies that are at least remotely funny and that have a pretty decent plot.
Well, yes the movie has its moments and it's good to watch, especially if you like football or are a Sandler fan.
And the original spent more time building the characters, so that by the end, the film really resonated in a way the remake does not.BUT, the remake is a fun & energetic piece of pop entertainment.
Its an Adam Sandler movie making homage to the Longest Yard..
The remake here was surprisingly good and pretty true to the original movie but will be most enjoyed by Adam Sandler fans or fans of the original.
The main character were all the same as well, but the supporting cast, especially the guards and cons, were changed up a bit.Former NFL quarterback Paul Crewe (Sandler, replacing the original Burt Reynolds) is arrested and faces a 3 year sentence for GTA, DUI and I am sure some other stuff which is unimportant.
Upon the urging of Captain Knauer (William Fichtner), Crewe declines, which sets the wheels in motion for an eventual game between Crewe and the convicts against Knauer and the guards.The supporting football players were the real highlights of the movie, most notably Bob Sapp and Kevin Nash (I hate to say it but Nash did a good job.
This remake from Robert Aldrich film deals about a professional quarterback (Adam Sandler in the role of Reynolds)is sent to high-security prison for stealing his sweetheart's car(an unbilled Courtney Cox) .
He's helped by sympathetic inmate(Chris Rock) and veteran player con(Burt Reynolds).This comic bone-crunching comedy is constituted by three parts, the first about introduction characters, the second part deals a football training and the third, dedicated to the game.
The motion picture is well directed by Peter Segal, usual director for Adam Sandler(50 first dates, Anger management) and comedies expert( Nutty professor, Naked gun: Final insult, Tommy boy) and recently filming ¨Get Smart¨.
They filmed it in 1974 with Burt Reynolds and it is about prisoners playing a football game against the guards.
Adam Sandler gets beat up or beat down a lot in the movie, they give the best lines and jokes to Chris Rock and there will be a few other Saturday Night Live people you will recognize in it.
I could not find myself rooting for these shallow inmates.Richard Kiel's original character was copied into being a big dumb bald black fool who had some of the worst lines in the movie.
They train the teams until the Warden asks Crewe for something that he will not do again; shave points off the score so that the guards can easily defeat the inmates.The cast of The Longest Yard has many big names.
Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, James Cromwell, and Nelly are the main characters of the movie.
Burt Reynolds is not given a lead role in this movie, but he still has a "tough guy" attitude through his character.I have not seen the original The Longest Yard, so I cannot compare the remake to the original.
Now I know it's not suppose to be a flat out comedy, but with comedic actors like Chris Rock and Adam Sandler, you would expect to maybe laugh every once and a while, this is not the case.
Mr. Deeds was Sandler's worst film in his career (not including that boat one) and The Longest Yard seems to be giving it a run for it's money.
I was rolling my eyes when the mean prison guard gave Sandler the "you're okay" speech at the end, not to mention the useless and meaningless character of Chris Rock, who is only there for sympathy, only there to get a few tears, but it doesn't even work.
It was recommended by a friend of a friend who we can only assume finds Police Academy 7 funny too.My mate wanted to leave after 10 minutes when we realised there weren't even any good looking women in it to distract us from another moronic Sandler remake e.g. Mr Deeds.The main premise of this 'comedy' appears to be showcasing how great, popular and hard Adan Sandler is.
Sandler seems unable to cast himself as anything other than: a mistreated retard who beats people up the most popular man on Earth who always gets the girl/wins a competition despite the efforts of a rich bad guy.Considering he was surrounded by a decent support cast in Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds, it's amazing that he felt the need to give the 'funniest' lines to a group of wrestlers.
Steve Austin is the best of a bad bunch and to be honest no-one could be as unfunny as Sandler's best mate Rob 'Deuce Bigalow' Schneider who has a cameo for no reason.So in summary, never ever watch this film unless you want to not laugh or are trying to split up with someone.I read somewhere that Sandler was first choice to play the cab driver in Collateral.
Sadly, Hollywood is not going to get the message we all want this poorly made film to deliver, because it will do extremely well at the box office thanks to the casting of Sandler, Nelly and the ex-jocks, bringing a built-in audience.
Luckily, THE LONGEST YARD, his latest movie, is his best film since TOMMY BOY thanks to Segal's great comedic direction.
In fact, I think it is safe to say that because of Segal's direction, THE LONGEST YARD is the best football film of the 2000s so far.Anybody that knows me knows that if there is one type of movie I hate, it's remakes.
Everyone does a great job with their roles (especially Sandler and Rock) and for an almost two hour movie, THE LONGEST YARD is fast-paced.Still, THE LONGEST YARD has its fair share of problems.
It was like the filmmakers actually believed taking shortcuts in the actual story and relying on the people who actually enjoyed the first movie to know about the backstory..Other problems with the film was just throwing in so many homophobic stereotypes and other racial jokes that truly detracted from what would have been moderately passable film.This was all in the first 25 minutes until I got so annoyed with a total waste of celluloid that I turned it off and watched the original..If they were smart enough they should have continued on the story not just have remade it, use the ideal that was established in the original film where Burt Reynolds (Paul Crewe) is still in prison for pissing off Eddie Albert (Warden Hazen) much like John Steadman (Pop) did, then have Sandler's character whatever they would call him be arrested for something similar..
Yes, The longest Yard is designed to measure your IQ This is how it works:1) If you were captivated by the plot, loved Adam Sandler, were impressed by the strong roles offered by Chris Rock and thought how good it was to see Burt Reynolds back in his old form after all these years, and were impressed by the writing, casting and directing of this film give yourself a 1.2) If you have some doubts about the Director's ability to keep the story line consistent with reality, and to keep a logical, believable, entertaining story going, along with some doubts about Adam Sandler's role as an ex NFL star, and lastly if you wondered just a little what the hell Burt Reynolds and Chris Rock were even doing in the film, but otherwise found it entertaining and worth the price of admission, give yourself a 2.3).
If you felt the film was a complete disaster, both for the career of the director and Adam Sandler, that it was a disgrace to both Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds to be in this film and that any high school theater arts student could have put together a better, more cohesive story.....
The name Adam Sandler is possibly unfairly associated with movies involving the same old jokes and big punches and hits.
With movies like Punch Drunk Love and Eight Crazy Nights, you had to ask yourself if Sandler had lost his golden touch, though he did save himself with his dramatic roles in Spanglish and 50 First Dates.
Every scene with Crews is laugh out loud.I didn't know what to expect from this movie being that it was a remake, but I can say with sincerity that I was truly impressed with the acting and story line.
I wonder, will some corporate guy actually get a bonus for having thought that a remake of Mean Machine starring Adam Sandler would be a great idea?
I rate Adam Sandler pretty highly as an actor: Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish are among my favourite films and he is excellent in both.
That's like going to a restaurant, being served a lousy steak, and being asked that you not compare it to other good steaks that you've had in the past.To any guy who was watching movies in the 70's, The Longest Yard is legendary.
so if you want to see the first movie buy the new DVD i'm gonna if you want to laugh, have a good time and see Adam Sandler see the new movie i loved it!!!.
Basically, this was the same film that Reynolds did a long time ago, but with Adam Sandler  shouldn't it be funnier?
"The Longest Yard" expects you to swallow the notion that a short, dumpy (if not chubby), completely non- athletic nerd like Sandler could outdo much bigger and faster players on the football field (many of them ex-NFL stars).
Adam Sandler is a funny guy but this film doesn't live up to his better comedies, such as Anger Management and 50 first dates.
Who thought THAT was funny ?Seriously, I just have to come to the conclusion that the reason Adam Sandler did a great movie there was because of P.T. Anderson, because his talent is of a school-cafeteria-lunch table clown level.One great thing about this movie, too - good sound.
I like Adam Sandler and I remembered enjoying the original 1974 title starring Burt Reynolds, so I was looking forward to seeing the remake.
But this movie was very not bad!But, the one thing I do like about Adam Sandler is the fact that the soundtracks in his films are top-rate.
In case you haven't seen this film (or the original) yet, then I will stop here about the story.James Cromwell slips into the shoes of Warden Hazen well, and seeing Burt Reynolds (star of the original) lend his support as Nate Scarborough was refreshing.
No offense to Burt Reynolds, but I couldn't help thinking that some people would watch this film and ask "Okay, so who's the old man on the team?"Technically, this version flowed a lot more smoothly than the original.
I'm a big fan of Adam Sandler and his movies, but I hate The longest Yard, really...
Adam Sandler seems to just be going through the motions and Burt has a look in his eye in about every scene that seems to be saying, "Why the hell did we screw with a good thing?" The football action scenes are too much like the original to be considered "fresh" and the writing doesn't add any new angles for improvement in the game shots.
The Longest Yard is a flat and pointless exercise in Adam Sandler's homophobic and sexist jokes, Chris Rocks racist jokes that hang on bad language, and Burt Reynolds's stupid smile and for him to act young once again.
The Longest Yard is a better than average movie that is likely to disappoint moviegoers that enjoyed the original in its box office run.
Adam Sandler stars in what is arguably his best film in years, and he is very believable in the role of a washed up quarterback.
Adam Sandler didn't make me laugh like Burt did in the original; James Cromwell was wasted as the warden; and Chris Rock seemed like he was just reciting his stand up act.
Adam Sandler was pretty good comic relief but the prison scenes drag on way too long.
As for the movie, if your an Adam Sandler fan then you will probably like it.
With his pal Peter Segal's camera and a screenwriter named Robert Sheldon, he recreates the prison football movie "The longest yard", riskily leaving his acting partners behind (not all of them, Rob Schneider gets a stupid cameo: he's not funny!) and gathering a whole new team that includes the heavy Chris Rock, the experienced Burt Reynolds and the rapper Nelly.The story, I believe, is quite the same as the original one, but probably with some updates here and there.
Ends up in prison where Warden Hazen (James Cromwell) likes football and wants him to train the inmates and play against the guards' semi-pro team led by the evil Captain Knauer (William Fichtner).Rock plays the black friend (why does that character always have to die?) Caretaker, Reynolds plays the pro Coach Nate Scarborough and those three will try to get their team complete, including the "neighborhood", where fast guy Megget (skillfully played by Nelly) and partners reside.
They didn't mess around with the story much and that made it a little weird (knowing what was coming next), but in some ways it was like meeting an old friend again.Both the recent British version (Mean Machine) and this film were worthy remakes.
I was expecting another football comedy, with a few funny gags, but i was mistaken.Its actually surprisingly serious, sure it has its really funny moments, but i also noticed a lot of drama and sensitivity during the film, and i'm pretty sure thats a good thing.
When movies come out with a remake it is usually not as good as the original.
Adam Sandler along with Chris Rock makes this a great comedy for all teenagers.
Sandler did a great job of playing Paul Crewe and was a huge factor of why this remake was better than the original.Movie technology played a big role in why this movie was so entertaining.
THE LONGEST YARD (2005) * Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Burt Reynolds, James Cromwell, Nelly, Nick Turturro, Eddie Bunker, Courteney Cox. Lame brained comedic remake of the Reynolds' cult classic about a grudge match football game between prisoners and guards with Sandler ineptly taking the Reynolds role (who has a smaller role as the coach here) to no desired affect what-so-ever.
Otherwise, don't bother.When Adam Sandler, Burt Reynolds, Michael Irvin and Nelly are the start of the show, it's not a good sign.Low expectations, but this movie doesn't even meet low expectations.
A former NFL Quarterback (Sandler) breaks his parole and gets sent back to prison where the warden (Cromwell) sets up a nationally televised football game between the guards and the convicts to promote his run for the governor of the state.Remakes are okay if you are doing Spiderman, but not something like this.
Adam Sandler is miscast (but he is one of the producers so..), Chris Rock is annoying and the wisecracks, prison transvestites and football stunts are old hat, not funny and actually quite boring.
Never seen the original, but this was the best Adam Sandler movie I've seen in a while..
"The Longest Yard" (2005) Dir. Peter Segal Gosh, Adam Sandler really does need to call it a day with these mediocre football films.
"Yard" is better than "Waterboy" but it is still nothing more than just another football movie from Sandler with a lame moral.It actually doesn't start out too bad.
This remake of the Classic Burt Reynolds film is very good.
I give this 1 star out of 10.The original Longest Yard with Burt Reynolds had grit, interesting characters, good dialogue, good acting, and a overall good chemistry between the actors to create a very good movie.
Burt Reynolds, the star of the original 'The Longest Yard' has a brief role.
The performance by Adam Sandler is decent as he draws out most of the laughs but his supporting cast like Chris Rock and Burt Reynolds didn't seem in their A game.
It stars Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, and Burt Reynolds, it released into theaters in 2005.
I've noticed that Adam Sandler has been in a lot of movies produced by Happy Madison, and every one I saw was really good.
Adam Sandler and Chris Rock make a good on- screen duo, splitting the major character roles in the movie.
I really liked this film over all because I love comedy and football all together.
Adam Sandler and Chris Rock make the movie perfect through their acting and the way they work with the co-stars.
Also, the way throughout the movie how the characters learned to play football and work as a team, and never gave up.
The Longest Yard isn't your typical Adam Sandler movie.
All though Longest Yard isn't a very deep film, it is a great movie for those looking for a humorous plot with a suspenseful and unexpected turn of events.
A remake of Robert Aldrich's 1974 film The Mean Machine, which starred Burt Reynolds, this version sees Peter Segal direct and Adam Sandler headlining.
Though there are some bits you would be better off not paying attention to The Longest Yard actually does a lot of things to make it a stand alone movie which most remakes don't do all that often.This film is full of drama and humor and quotes that you'll find yourself using after watching it.
The movie has funny moments but it just fizzles out and the game between the inmates and guards seems long and tries to be too much like the original with the split screens and some of the antics.