Labelled an outcast by his brainy family, a bouncer overcomes long odds to lead a team of under performing misfits to semi-pro hockey glory, beating the crap out of everything that stands in his way.
Alas, in over-doing the violence, under-cooking the comedy and botching the drama, this isn’t so much skating on thin ice as willfully crashing through it.
Blokes punching each other hard and almost continuously for 90 minutes. That's the sad sum of Goon, a sports comedy that's the most wantonly aggressive thing to come out of Canada since the wolverine.
It’s pitched as a comedy and has a few left-field laughs but is as empty-headed as its protagonist.
As amiably idiotic as its hero.
Come the second half here, the laugh cupboard’s all but dry.
It's a surprisingly watchable, big-hearted yet unsentimental film.
While you may know very little about the sport's complexities, the plot is highly unbelievable, even for a comedy.
A pucking funny guilty pleasure.
A couple of smart lines aside, the amount of blood- spattering violence, cursing, and locker-room humour mean this one misses the goal by a mile.
Funny and sweet, brutal and profane in equal measure, this makes up in amiability and one-liners what it lacks in storytelling.
Rough, rude and raucous.
Goon remains a likeable, unpretentious time-passer, thanks to its soft-hearted lunk of a hero. It's just a pity that, despite some glimmers of intelligence, the film isn't much brainier than he is.
Ice hockey is a violent game, but usually in movies the violence is the garnish rather than the meal itself. In this brutal comedy, the game is a minor consideration.
Goon is both brutal and painfully funny, and delivers a comedy ensemble that would gut the Mighty Ducks.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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