Sports movies are almost a waste of time. Unless they're based off a true story (at least one that deserves to be told), there's little point in making them. The good team wins, the bad team loses, and you follow a basic formula. A little bit of originality is usually enough to get through, and that's something the The Longest Yard has.
That doesn't always translate into a likable film though either. This is a movie that, quite simply, hasn't aged well at all. It's archaic, slow, and marred by a football game that goes on far too long with no purpose. The film runs close to two hours, yet we learn very little about the characters leading up to the guards vs. inmates game (which is set up in ridiculous style), neither do we have a reason to care about the majority. That's a sure sign something is wrong.
It's also a movie that seems unsure as to what it wants to be. We open with Burt Reynolds character Paul Crewe beating his wife and throwing her to the ground, then later the audience is expected to accept him simply because he "does the right thing" predictably during a football game. He's a completely unlikable character regardless of how he plays football, and winning a game is NOT redeeming himself. Leading to that point, you're supposed to accept this as a comedy, then a drama, and then back to comedy. It earns a hard "R" with some language and gratuitous nudity in the beginning, neither of which make the film any better.
It's all wildly uneven, occasionally entertaining, but mostly dull. At least half of the football game could be deleted and it wouldn't hurt anything. As it stands, all it hurts is the audience who need to sit through a predictable game of Hollywood football that ends without any idea of what happens to the characters afterward. (** out of *****)
This new "Lockdown Edition" comes with a newly restored anamorphic transfer, and it looks far better than you would expect. The print itself is in remarkable shape barring some minor scratches. The only major problem is grain, which seems to be worse in the first half of the film than the second. Compression is never an issue. This may be a blatant cash-in on the remake, but at least they did something to improve the picture quality. (****)
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Article comments
1 - Kyle
Matt Paprocki is way out of touch with older film reviews here. I saw the original in a theatre after coming home from tours in Viet Nam and Europe. It was funny then and I laughed when I just watched the remake and the original again. The car chase scene in the original is one of the best all time. Don't know how old you are Matt, but I would guess still wet behind the ears and difinitely not as film savy you think. My advice to you is "Get another job"! This one is well beyond your league.
2 - Matt Paprocki
Yes, I'm sorry my opinion doesn't agree with yours. That means I can't do this job. *end sarcasm*
This was probably a great movie back in 1974. Now, well, not so much. I have my reasons which are stated in the review. You obviously have fond memories of the movie, and that's great. I don't, and I can see it through cleaner eyes that way.
There are a bunch of terrible movies I love because I saw them years ago. It's blind nostalgia. I've also reviewed a slew of "older" films, dating back to the fifties. Some work, some don't. This one doesn't... at all.