The Longest Yard Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
It was hard to put a team together... until they found out who they were playing.
If you can't get out, get even
It's time to even the score
Hit hard or go home.
Paul "Wrecking" Crewe was a revered football superstar back in his day, but that time has since faded. But when a messy drunk driving incident lands him in jail, Paul finds he was specifically requested by Warden Hazen (James Cromwell), a duplicitous prison official well aware of Paul's athletic skills. Paul has been assigned the task of assembling a team of convicts, to square off in a big football game against the sadistic guards. With the help of fellow convict Caretaker, and an old legend named Nate Scarborough to coach, Crewe is ready for what promises to be a very interesting game. It's only the warden and the guards who have no idea who or what they're up against, with Paul the driving force behind the new team.
| Courteney Cox | |
| Adam Sandler | Paul Crewe |
| Rob Schneider | |
| James Cromwell | |
| Burt Reynolds | Coach Nate Scarborough |
| Chris Rock | Caretaker |
| David Patrick Kelly | Unger |
| William Fichtner | |
| Nelly | Megget |
| Michael Irvin | Deacon Moss |
| Walter Williamson | Errol Dandridge |
| Bill Goldberg | Battle |
| Terry Crews | Cheeseburger Eddy |
| Bob Sapp | Switowski |
| Nicholas Turturro | Brucie |
| Dalip Singh | Turley |
| Lobo Sebastian | Torres |
| Joey Diaz | Big Tony |
| Steve Reevis | Baby Face Bob |
| Peter Segal |
6.20 out of 10 (16771 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Good movie for a sports fan.
posted on 30 Aug 2009Revenge is the one thing on the mind that every prisoner wants to impose on the guards. This idea of revenge is exactly what Paul Crewe (Adam Sandler) does to help motivate other inmates to organize a football team in an inmates vs. guards football game.The movie opens up with Crewe being chased by cops after he stole a Bentley. The car chase ends with Crewe getting arrested and bragging to his girlfriend by jumping up and down in front of the media helicopters that were covering the chase. Immediately we get to see the personality of Paul Crewe as a cocky spotlight loving person. Crewe is a former NFL player who is the only player to be banned from the league for point shaving. When he enters the jail, he is hated by everybody because he caused so many people to lose bets from the point shaving incident.An NFL player, or any celebrity usually has special treatment in prison. Crewe's opportunity arises when the prison Warden, Hazen, (James Cromwell) offers Crewe a chance for a nice cell and good words in parole hearings. The offer was to organize the inmates to play the guards in a football team. The point was for the inmates to have such a horrible team, that the guards would win easily and have high enough spirit to be able to compete in their organized league. After vowing to never be involved with football again, Crewe declines the offer. The guards beat up on him, and he is unable to socialize with any inmates. After not wanting to take anymore beatings from the guards, Crewe accepts Hazen's offer.The first friend that Crewe makes is Caretaker (Chris Rock). Caretaker had already spent a long time in prison and knew most of the inmates. Caretaker helps Crewe with tryouts for the team, but there was no talent. As are most prisons, the Old Main prison is racially separated. Crewe wanted some of the black players on the team, but they wanted nothing to do with football. Megget (Nelly) had a respect for Crewe, and was the first player to join the team. He was an extremely fast runner, but there were not enough players to make a decent team.Enter Nate Scarborough, (Burt Reynolds) a Heisman Trophy winner, who still lived for football. He helped train the team, but the lack of talent made it so that there is no chance for the inmates to win. After several racial incidents involving guards, many other black players join the team, and the inmates become a decent team. The inmates are ready to face to guards in the battle of revenge they have been waiting for. Most of the inmates only want to play so that they can impose as much pain as possible on the guards. Crewe and Scarborough want to take the respect out of the guards by beating them. 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. On both teams there are many NFL players such as Michael Irwin and Bill Romanowski. One of the best roles in the movie is Chris Berman's cameo as the ESPN announcer during the big game. Berman is the benchmark for football commentating, and for such an important game, it is fitting to have such a personality as Berman.The visual effects of the film are fantastic. The bone crushing hits are presented well in slow motion and with up close camera shots. The set of the prison gives a realistic sense of a jail as well. It is in the middle of New Mexico with absolutely nothing but desert near it. The sense of isolation is similar to what the prisoners probably feel.The Longest Yard has the same basic premise as Happy Gilmore but football rather than golf. Adam Sandler is trying to get revenge, but turns to a sport rather than fights. In both movies, I found myself rooting for Sandler's character, and hating the antagonists. This film is not as crude as other Sandler films, but still has plenty of laughs. Chris Rock's humor is similar to his standup as most of the things that Rock says in The Longest Yard has something to do with race. 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. While watching the movie, I found myself cheering for the teams as I do when watching the Bears beating the Packers. Chris Rock's character adds a lot of humor to the movie. The one complaint I have with the movie is that the conflicts at the end are not completely resolved, and it is unclear about what will happen in the future. The Longest Yard is not an Oscar worthy masterpiece, but for a typical sports fan, The Longest Yard is a great movie. In all, I give it a rating of 8 out of 10.
Jaihouse Crock
posted on 28 Aug 2009I rate Adam Sandler pretty highly as an actor: Punch Drunk Love and Spanglish are among my favourite films and he is excellent in both. Sadly, The Longest Yard utterly stifles this talent - and the talents of his co-stars, including Chris Rock, James Cromwell and William Fichtner - by entrusting the direction and script to witless cretins. I probably wouldn't have minded the litany of movie clichés if they hadn't been so wilfully and ineptly used. To make matters irredeemably worse, just about every ethnic and social male stereotype is kicked out onto the field for the delectation of their young white target audience. I haven't seen the original, but I'm willing to bet Burt came away from this remake ruing the direction popular cinema has taken since 1974.
The Longest Yard
posted on 20 Aug 2009From director Peter Segal (Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult, Nutty Professor II: The Klumps, Anger Management) comes this remake to the 1974 film. Basically Paul 'Wrecking' Crewe (Adam Sandler, also producing) was once a very popular football superstar, but he has gone down hill, and ends up being imprisoned for drink driving. Not long after settling in, and making a friend with the prisoner known as the Caretaker (Chris Rock), duplicitous prison official Warden Hazen (Babe's James Cromwell), well aware of Crewe's athletic skills, tells him to prepare a team of players for a football game, prisoners vs. guards. As well as Caretaker, Crewe gets help from legendary Coach Nate Scarborough (Razzie nominated Burt Reynolds), and Crewe is promising a very interesting game, even if training is starting off rough, they do improve, don't worry. So training is complete, and it comes to the big game, and even without Caretaker, who suddenly dies, they are a strong team, and even with Crewe facing the possibility of going back to jail, he is not going to let the guards beat his team. Also starring rapper Nelly as Megget, Prison Break's William Fichtner as Captain Knauer, Michael Irvin as Deacon Moss, Commando's David Patrick Kelly as Unger, Bill Romanowski as Guard Lambert, Bill Goldberg as Battle, Walter Williamson as Errol Dandridge, Reservoir Dogs' Edward Bunker as Skitchy Rivers, White Chicks' Terry Crews as Cheeseburger Eddy, 30 Rock's Tracy Morgan as Ms. Tucker, Kevin Nash as Guard Engleheart, Rob Schneider as Punky and Courteney Cox Arquette as Lena. I would need to see the original film to compare it, but even without seeing it, it isn't a bad film at all, there are some good small giggly moments. Worth watching!
The Longest Music Video: MTV's negative effect on Sandler's new comedy
posted on 14 Aug 2009I knew I was in trouble when I saw that MTV helped produce this film during the opening credits. In normal MTV fashion, it took Sandler's film and tried to make it into a giant music video. If you think I'm kidding, just watch the credits and you will realize that there are over 30 random songs played throughout the film. Further, the multiple screens during the football game and the overabundance of super slow motion during football practice add to the overall music video effect. This takes away from the story and, more importantly, takes away from the Adam Sandler humor we all know and love (or at least the humor that people who go to see this movie love). Though this movie was not up to par with the comedic zaniness of Sandler's past movies, it would have been much better without MTV's influence. It bothers me that the music video industry is having such an impact on cinema (even if it is only clearly visible in summer teenager comedies). This being said, "The Longest Yard" (2005) was funny and worth seeing if you're looking for easy laughs and an adrenaline rush. Sandler and Rock make a good duo, and Burt Reynolds (who played Sandler's character in the original) is an inspiring coach. I just wish MTV didn't get its talons into this film.
sandlers career in microcosm
posted on 14 Aug 2009It would be easy to slate this film as a worthless mtv movie aimed at brainless teenagers. It is however very very charming, and extremely good at what it does. Its cast seem to be having a good time in general, it is very funny in key places and okay funny in most other places. there are some key points that are important to this movie.* Burt Reynolds looks like a friggin waxwork * Sandler has built a career out of movies like this and he does them well. * made "love story" lacking in sentiment. * Many of the "non-actor" stars actually gave some decent performances. Nelly in particular during the library scene was very good. * The prison set was actually quite stunning. most sets and cinematography were very good. * Courtney Cox-Arquette should have "warning: irritant" tattooed on her forehead. not just in this movie but on general principle.If you let this film wash over you in a "film as entertainment" rather than a "film as art" way, it is quite pleasant. a bit long, a bit to stuffed with sentiment but technically excellent.
Go Sandler!
posted on 06 Aug 2009Adam Sandler is back in the game and we receive him with our arms wide open. 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. Failed football star Paul Crewe (Sandler) gets drunk and in big troubles with the law. 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. The rage every inmate has for the guards will make them play; with effort and dedication. The matter will grow wider, and the match will be televised by ESPN, and the team… The team is the core of the film. It includes the extremely big and with problems for speaking Turley (Indian power lifter Dalip Singh), the supposedly not gay but not strong or talented Brucie (Nick Turturo), the enormous enough to kill you with a friendly hug Switowsky (Bob Sapp), the arrogant and strong Deacon (Michael Irvin), the Mc Donald's fan Cheeseburger Eddy ("White Chicks'" Terry Crews) and others.With them you experience the events, with them you sympathize, for them you want the best. Sandler finds himself in his best moment, telling the people he's still funny or even truer, that he never stopped being, and that he's doing Hollywood's best comedies (leaving "Mr. Deeds" aside). Chris Rock provides all of the fun, but the loud way of speaking doesn't work the same in live flesh as in animation; and the racist commentaries tire a little bit.The pros; Reynolds sets himself in a type of role that suits him perfectly and could help him during the last phase of his late career, if he doesn't wan to take risks. And Cromwell manages to look very young and to keep us entertained as he uses a very monotone and serious tone of voice throughout the entire ride. While not a pro, William Fichtner also highlights as the bastard Knauer.Unexpectedly, Peter Segal is at his best making his piece look beautiful, at least, for what a prison declares. Also unexpectedly, MTV Films and Sandler's Happy Madison company, dedicatedly make us happy (without the need of any female pressence...), as they accomplish another one of those good contemporary comedies.
The Longest Yard, or a McDonald's commercial ?
posted on 27 Jul 2009Now I'm not one to bash movies very often, but sadly, this movie deserves a bit of bashing. I found this movie to be one of the poorest re-makes I have seen in all of the years I have been watching, and writing about movies. This Longest Yard lacked all of the personality, characters, and true feeling of the original. Sure, there were some funny lines, but plain and simple, this movie does the original no justice at all. Secondly, I certainly understand product placement in today's movies, but to be completely honest with you, this film was more of a commercial for McDonald's than anything else. For those of us who loved the "Real Longest Yard", I leave you with this thought, buy the original on DVD - you will be glad you did ! HIS-TO-RY. (By the way, what happened to the warden's assistant?)
36 Inches of Pain.
posted on 25 Jul 2009Entertaining, but somewhat dumb remake of the minimally successful original of 1974. Ex-pro quarterback Adam Sandler is put into a rough Texas prison after a crazed night of driving drunk and breaking his probation restrictions. Inside he meets a wide range of characters (old Heisman Trophy winner Burt Reynolds, wise-crack Chris Rock and thugs Michael Irvin and Nelly) and tries to turn the rag-tag group of cons into a team in a month's time to play a football game against sadistic warden James Cromwell's prison guards (led by ex-pro players Brian Bosworth and Bill Romanowski). The whole set-up is little more than window dressing to get to the film's final act and the big game. This movie's predecessor had a hard edge to it that made it somewhat believable in spite of the ridiculous material. The characters here are not developed well enough and the Sandler/Cromwell combo is just not up to the Reynolds/Eddie Albert duo of the original. The comedy borders on being downright offensive here, but really nothing should be taken too seriously. Not terrible, but honestly not very good either. 2.5 out of 5 stars.
exactly what i expected
posted on 15 Jul 2009The Longest Yard was, in my opinion, an unsuccessful remake of the classic, even though it had some funny moments... First of, for me Sandler just doesn't look like he could be a quarterback, let alone the MVP of the National Football League, I'm just not buying that... Secondly, Chris Rocks character was pretty much ... well...Chris Rock, which is a good thing because he's hilarious in this one. Rock and an almost equally funny Tracey Morgan couldn't hold this movie together though as i lost interest quickly. The movie just seemed to drag on too long and the ending was very predictable. Just watch the original ..it is way better.
Sandler at his worst - almost!
posted on 09 Jul 2009How many times must this plot be filmed? I'm not sure that Burt Reynolds was the first back in 1974, but that version was my personal favourite, even though fellow countryman Vinnie Jones did a worthy rendition with an English spin in "The Mean Machine". This attempt by Adam Sandler seems entirely unnecessary, somehow. The script remains almost word-for-word the same as the 1974 version and Sandler brings nothing additional to the part of Paul Crewe. Indeed, Sandler was far less wooden in his classic, "Going Overboard", which also had the distinction of at least being original. (Let's give thanks for that!) Some excellent films have been released in the past year or so; this is most definitely not one of them.
Great Comedy
posted on 07 Jul 2009The Longest Yard, a very successful remake from the original 1974 version. Adam Sandler rolls up and takes the character as Paul Crew, a retired former MVP (Most Valuable Player) quarter-back in the game of American football. The movie is very enjoyable from the start to the end. Like every other Adam Sandler movie, they've got the over-the-top hilarious characters, and the usual comedic violence that we all know and love. The Longest Yard doesn't disappoint, there is excellent characters, wonderful dialog, and a very suspenseful off-your-seat "comedy" ending. Each character is different in their own ways, whether its on or off the field. Be prepared to watch 113 minutes of non-stop laughter.
Another poor Hollywood remake and Sandler is unlikable in the lead.
posted on 27 Jun 2009Another poor Hollywood remake even Sadler fans will find\ few positives:This movie pretty much sucked starting from the idea that it could somehow be better than the 1974 cult classic. This movie fails on so many levels it's not even funny. Even guys like Stone Cold Steve Austin or Kevin Nash can distort the pathetic director, the overused prison stereotypes that we've seen a million times, and UNLIKABLE character in the lead (Sandler). Etc.Well let's start with the last part, Adam Sandler just sucks in the lead, Sandler himself is pretty hard to put up with so why put him in the lead? Other failures. The fact of the matter is that is a typical Sandler vehicle, his worse one yet , but if you have seen his other movies they're almost the same He makes an ass of himself gets away with it, then the movie ends. "Punch Drunk Love" was the exception.The plot is that Paul Crewe (Sandler) wrecks his car into another police car while the fact that his car was reported stolen by his girlfriend played in a small role by Courtney Cox. Then he gets of to prison which results in the usual prison offensive jokes we've seen a million times that gets old:"Someone will make you his bitch"-Caretaker (Chris Rock).How enlightening, lol Tell us something we don't know. Eventually the Warden of the prison played a weak and flat James Cromwell who has an easy role recruits Paul to play against the guards in a football game.As someone else stated Sandler is totally unrealistic as a former football player, much less a quarterback. Didn't we actually see Sandler play a football/loser type of role already? Why yes we did it was called The WATERBOY!!! Why Peter Segal elected to choose Sandler is anyone's guess. I guess he figured Sandler could carry this movie, he was wrong. I guess he figured Sandler could be funny enough in this movie to warrant a full viewing. He was wrong again. I guess he figured that fans would forget the great original that inspired the remake and wouldn't notice the fact that this movie is a pale and cheap imitation of it, he was wrong a third time.I did get a couple of good chuckles though (one or three at the least) when Paul recruits this huge inmate playing Ping Pong is actually well executed. However that's one of a few good laughs I did get.Unlikable characters, prison stereotypes and familiar jokes, a dimwitted weak actor/comedian in the lead is all that told me this movie was a familiar. Ebert and Roper were right on this one panning the movie.The original was funny but it was also raw, gritty, suspenseful and the keyword....it was original.Thus a remake was unwarranted and unneeded. I second then all the other critics and fans who say Hollywood should stop remaking these classics and leave well enough alone.They're not fooling anybody and in the process our respect for any filmmaker who participates in a remake is lost. Peter Segal has made some good funny movies: The Naked Gun the Final Insult, Anger Managment and Fifty First Dates were entertaining but this movie is not.It's just a predictable ride, boring and lame that doesn't deserve a second turn.But then again Segal as most Hollywood directors , probably could not deny the huge money he was offered to do it as well as the unfunny and uninspiring Adam Sandler.
Quite Mediocre
posted on 19 Jun 2009Though this film was riddled with occasionally funny portions, I found that overall much of the humor was offensive and predictable. A lot of the material was not original and seemed as if it was rehashed, had been done before many a time.Furthermore, it seemed s if within the humor of the film they occasionally lost track of the main plot of the film. Plus, the plot was so dry and drawn out that one almost wished that they had totally thrown it out the window and ran without it. There were also rather surreal moments of corniness that jolted me, being suddenly taken into the realm of the melodramatic after laughing at some juvenile humor.Overall, the film was not well put together and not that funny for a comedy. Not a great accomplishment. I do not really recommend anyone to see this film.
Total RipOff of from the movie Mean Machine (2001)
posted on 19 Jun 2009This is the worst ripoff I've ever seen, it follows the movie Mean Machine into exact details, the only real difference is that its American football instead of soccer. The story is 98% the same. They even got the same name on the inmate team, I got really sad when I saw this since I'm a big fan of the original movie. I'm sorry to say this but it "sucked big time", the script is rewritten a little so it's supposed to look different but they did a really bad work at it, if it was a remake maybe I could have accepted it, but sadly I got only one thing to say to all people who has not seen this movie yet !!! AVOID CONTACT AT ALL COSTS !!! see the real movie, and if you've seen this already, see Mean Machine as well, then you will understand what I'm talking about.
A worthy remake
posted on 19 Jun 2009Normally i do not like remakes but the Longest Yard showed me that, though a remake can never match the original, they can still be pretty good. Peter Segal managed to make a decent movie here. Sheldon Turner's new screenplay was funny and exciting. Though there wasn't enough character development, i still enjoyed this. I had one problem with casting, though. Adam Sandler does not seem like a former NFL qb. With such big names the acting should be good and it was. Sandler, Rock, and Reynolds were all superb in this movie. The supporting actors including Nelly and Michael Irvin were also good. Teddy Castellucci's musical score reminded me of Holes, especially when Sandler was on the bus. I enjoyed the shots of the prison in the desert and the big game was well shot. Overall cinematography by Dean Semler was good. Though The Longest Yard cannot match the original, it is still a worthy remake worth seeing.
Get Adam Sandal in The Longest Yard
posted on 13 Jun 2009Well, it was okay and mabey Mr. Sandle recycled some of his old jokes. Maybe it's like a summary of all his previous Adam Sandal antics and since this will be his last movie show, well....I did not find this movie that funny if compared to the other Adam Sandal shows. For example, when Adam Sandal went to America. That was really, really funny! I couldn't stop laughing while watching that movie. However, this Football potboiler one was quite boring. The only funny parts were when he was slapped and when he dressed up as some grandmother! But, still it's Adam Sandal. He's one of a kind and Adam Sandal fans out there will definitely miss this funny, funny man!Too bad about the actual DVD transfer....
Very funny movie!
posted on 26 May 2009I have seen this movie more than 5 times and i enjoyed it every time. The start of the movie is fantastic as well as the ending. This movie was very good and i recommend it for people above 12, as some of the jokes are quite racist. This movie starts out with Adam Sandler being with his girlfriend at a party, and then stealing her car and crashing it into police cars. He gets charged for driving while under the influence and is sent to a prison because the warden wants him to teach Football skills. Then he starts to get a prison team to play against the guards, in the process Adam Sandler's best friend gets killed by a bomb. In the end the inmates win against the guards even though the guard threatened Adam Sandler.
fantastic and cheesy
posted on 18 May 2009this film is great for people like me, who like American football but live somewhere else, and, if you like Adam Sndler and Chris rock, look no further. Right well i guess you understand this is about football, and its quite a revenge story. i mean, come on, inmates .v. guards. it was always going to be good and i will certainly but it myself. Hmmm well there are some brilliant scenes of football here, some hard hits for you guys out there like me. Adam Sandler is witty and brilliant, and he is a credit to the film. And well, when i saw Nelly in it, I knew it was going to be great!!!!!! And as for the cheerleaders, what can I say, it has to be seen to be believed. Peace out
Scene for scene remake of the 1974 original
posted on 14 May 2009In fact it's almost a character for character and word for word remake. Not that that's bad. The original was a great movie and now it's been done again with modern stars like adam sandler and chris rock. They even found a 7 feet tall muscle-bound giant to play the Richard Kiel part - and they made him up to facially resemble Kiel.!! There's a lot of attempted humor in the show but i didn't find the movie particularly funny. This is a good movie because the story is so good. Bunch of crazy convicts play a football game against a team of vicious prison guards. The game comes at the end of the movie and takes up a good half hour and is a thriller.Adam Sandler is the star and i've never liked him because he reminds me of the young Jerry Lewis, something like a monkey on speed. But in this show he's a level-headed guy and it works.
Enough with the football, Adam!
posted on 30 Aug 2009"The Longest Yard" (2005) Dir. Peter Segal Gosh, Adam Sandler really does need to call it a day with these mediocre football films. "The Waterboy" was retarded and lame, bringing Sandler down from a once actually-quite-good-comedic-reputation. "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. Courteney Cox-Arquette plays the bitch from hell with great breasts so well you're not left wanting her to wither and die in the closet she's locked in but to come out of there and join the football team herself. The situation which leads to Sandler being thrown in the joint is fairly humorous and well-filmed.Once he gets there, the film remains entertaining and puts Sandler's character in a tight spot, he is left to recruit an entire football team by orders from the nasty warden played by James Cromwell (perhaps spoofing his own role in "The Green Mile"?) to play the guards, despite William Fichtner's vicious guard leader seriously disapproving of the competition.Sandler goes off about recruiting members of the football team to play, and in a jail full of huge, scary convicts, it isn't too hard to get together a team to bring Fichtner's guards to weak knees. I particularly enjoyed the basketball sequence, very cool, and the character of the enormous black guy who could lift an entire bench of his inmates up like they were flies, while all the time underneath being a bit of a big softie.The film is successful in that it works up a number of likable, funny characters, even though most of them are stereotypes. The draggy/cross-dressing stereotype is played on in a funny way when they become the official cheerleaders. The black guys, big guys who look scary but are nice underneath, all of that is here. All of these are obviously unoriginal and undeveloped characters but they remain fun to watch nonetheless.Less enjoyable to watch are the prison guards, though we see very little of them. When it comes time for us to finally feel sympathy for them and kinda like them a little bit, it's too late in the game (no pun) as we haven't had enough time prior to this development to give it any build-up. The battle between the prison guards and the inmates is also irritatingly far-fetched at times, it's doubtful that the guys doing time would be given enough freedom to gain access to the guards' locker rooms, or that they would be left alone in the projector room! But where the movie really falls from grace is the last half an hour or so, which feels like the entire two hours all in one go. The final game against the guards and inmates (held in a stadium to cheering fans, dear God) just drags on for too long, personally I lost momentum and interest after five minutes.Chris Rock is also wasted here, the resolution to his character is such a bad move for the film, showing that he was in "Yard" to be nothing more than Chris Rock himself and make funny lines in the background. He had no relevance to the plot at all.Sandler himself is stomachable enough, I always like him better when he's not doing his crazy over-the-top antics ALA "Little Nicky" and is just playing the regular guy facing off against incredible odds. The film's cast is actually quite impressive, with Burt Reynolds playing a supporting part with enough Reynoldsy charm to render him watchable, and Nelly being one of the film's highlights (!). Nelly even holds his own in a sort-of dramatic scene in which the guards continuously drop books while Nelly's character is doing library duty. He was very likable in the film and one of my favourite parts of it.Though the film has energy to spare until the last frame, Sandler doesn't know when to call it quits with the damn final football game, and he has to realise that watching guys to tackled OVER and OVER again (a Nelly song, in fact) may not be as enjoyable for an impatient audience as it is for him.6/10