|
SYNOPSIS:
In this hilarious and heartwarming family comedy, one of the
sport's toughest players ever takes on his biggest challenge
yet -- fatherhood! A superstar with an ego bigger than a football
field, Joe Kingman (Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson) is
getting ready for a run at the big championship game when
the 8-year-old daughter he never knew existed shows up at
his not-so-family-friendly bachelor pad. As the big game gets
closer, he begins to realize the most meaningful win he can
achieve is the heart of the one little fan who counts the
most.
MOVIE REVIEW:
Someone says in the movie to Dwayne “The Rock”
Johnson: You are a freakish large man. And we couldn’t
agree more. The 1.93m giant, who is also a seven time WWE
World Champion is so huge, he almost looks scary on our small
and humble computer screen which we played this DVD on. After
brewing sandstorms as The Scorpion King (2002) and Walking
Tall (2004), the Californian leaves his wrestler persona at
home and returns to the celluloid as a, gasp, family man in
a, double gasp, family friendly Andy Fickman-directed Disney
flick.
Johnson
plays Joe “The King” Kingman (expect lots of soundtrack
tunes from Elvis Presley himself), a self absorbed football
player who loves himself more than anybody else. Living the
bachelor lifestyle any married man would envy, the tough player’s
life gets turned upside down when an eight-year-old daughter
from a previous relationship literally shows up at his door
one fine morning. And like all Disney flicks with a wholesome
family theme, the egoistic protagonist learns that family
is more important than anything else in the world.
Yes,
we know the thought of Johnson being a true actor will only
bring guffaws and giggles to the self-proclaimed movie critic.
But the man delivers a pleasantly surprising warm performance
in this movie. We are thinking that his recent venture into
more Hollywood movies is the reason for this engaging performance.
Despite the clichés and predictability in plot, Johnson
shows some competency for us to like and care for his character.
Physical comedy tactics aside (the eye-twitching and chest
muscle jolting are unnecessary but amusing), there are some
truly sweet scenes between the giant and his young co-star
Madison Pettis, who plays his daughter who has a thing for
ballet.
Which
also makes the filmmakers realize how amusing it is to see
Johnson in a tutu, prancing around on stage and dancing to
classical music.
The
watch-able cast also includes the underused Kyra Sedgwick
(The Woodsman) and the lovely Roselyn Sanchez (Venus and Vegas).
The two women complement Johnson’s testosterone-filled
performance without overshadowing him (both literally and
figuratively).
For
a family comedy like that, do not expect any intelligent writing.
The main draw is Johnson and his out of this world physique
and how it translates to screen well enough for us not to
diss the movie. Although we still cannot help feeling amused
by how Johnson uses this trait to milk laughs out of viewers
of low expectations, we are guessing that the wrestler may
be leaving the ring very soon, and go full force into taking
leading roles in Hollywood.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
This Code 3 DVD contains the three-minute “Bloopers
with Marv Albert”, where we see the cast making
mistakes in the most hilarious ways. Watch how Johnson has
great chemistry with the bulldog in the movie. There are nine
“Deleted Scenes” running a total
of 21 minutes, where you see the ballet scene in it full entertaining
glory. Director Fickman provides an optional introduction
before each deleted scene. The five-minute “The
King in Search for a Ring” is a DVD/Blu-Ray
exclusive fictionalized segment hosted by ESPN. The character
Joe Kingsman is presented as an arrogant sportsperson with
lots of accolades and recognition. We can’t help but
enjoy this entertaining clip. In the 20-minute “Drafting
The Game Plan”, the filmmakers talk about the
making the movie, and how Johnson was the one who had the
initial idea of making an inspirational sports movie starring
himself, after being impressed by other Disney movies like
The Rookie (2002) and Miracle (2004). An interesting
“Easter Egg” option allows you to change
the ambience of the menu page modeled after Joe Kingman’s
room and decorate the items displayed in his luxurious suite.
There are also “Sneak Peeks”
of DVDs like 101 Dalmatians and Underdog.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The disc’s visual transfer is pristine and clear while
the movie’s audio soundtrack is available in 5.1 Dolby
English, Spanish, Thai and Portuguese.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by John Li
|
