Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Goon: Last of the Enforcers Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 21, 2017

It's not true that people attend hockey games merely for the fights (or NASCAR races for the wrecks), but there's no denying the entertainment value of a good old-fashioned fistfight on skates. In hockey parlance, a "goon" or "enforcer" is a player whose primary role on the team is to protect the more highly skilled players with intimidation, guts, and a willingness to knock around the other team's players, whether by checking them into the boards or dropping the gloves when the situation demands a more personal touch. Hockey goons were immortalized in the personas of the Hanson Brothers in Slap Shot. Seann William Scott's Doug "The Thug" doesn't ascend to that same level of hockey immortality, but his films -- Goon and Goon: Last of the Enforcers -- have revealed the role of the goon to a new generation of fans in movies that are vulgar, bloody, and bloody fun. This sequel follows the title character as he traverses life on the ice and pending fatherhood, forced to choose his direction in life and, just maybe, find a way to both do what he loves and love those closest to him.

Doug Glatt's (Seann William Scott) team, the Halifax Highlanders, is enjoying an influx of new talent thanks to a professional lockout. Things are looking up. But when he goes up against a hotshot young player, Anders Cain (Wyatt Russell), who is also team owner Hyrum Cain's (Callum Keith Rennie) son, he loses a fight, messes up his shoulder, and is forced to step away from the game he loves. That's not a bad thing. His wife Eva (Alison Pill) is pregnant with the couple's first child, and in a bid to be closer to home and live a more stable life, Doug takes a job selling insurance. Meanwhile, the Highlanders make a move to bring Anders Cain to the team. He's named Captain in Doug's absence, but the team falls into a tailspin. Doug quickly realizes the insurance game is not for him and looks to make a return to the ice, even as fatherhood awaits right around the corner.

Writer/director Jay Baruchel and Co-Writer Jesse Chabot have assembled a film that's over-the-top in every way yet still intimately human. Sure, its themes are rather trite and its character growth predictable, but Seann William Scott brings a humanity to the part, as he struggles to find his place in the world even as the two things he loves most -- his family and his hockey team -- are right there in front of him. He wrestles not with the idea of pending fatherhood but rather the notion that he needs to give up one thing he loves if he's going to fully and capably embrace another. As he watches his team struggle on the ice and under the leadership of a new captain who is more a hired gun and less a true leader, he discovers a metaphorical hole in the heart that beckons him back towards the ice, even as he's dealing with a bum shoulder that has rightly kept him sidelined. But supportive teammates and a loving wife, as well as a few nudges in the right direction from a couple of other places, force him to rediscover himself and to decide if his passion for hockey and his role on the ice is still the right place for him.

Blood and laughter don't usually make for comfortable bedfellows, but they do here. They're relentlessly critical components that make the movie what it is, without which, or even with a significantly toned down version, would make the movie a total miss. The movie's vulgarity doesn't feel forced as it does in so many of today's Comedies, wrenched in for a laugh but not really an integral part of the story. In Goon: Last of the Enforcers, the language flows like sweet honey, adding a hard-edged charm to the movie and, with its authenticity of delivery -- on the ice, in the locker room, at the home, even way up in the owner's box -- the movie feels fully believable, with arguably only T.J. Miller's sportscaster cussing out of place but still to absolutely humorous effect. The blood, likewise, spills by the gallon; the ice more often looks like someone's jugular was cut by a skate than it does dotted by a few drops spilled following a haymaker to the nose. Every punch is a celebration of excess, where slow-motion reactions reveal every bit of gushing blood to gloriously comic effect. It's completely unrealistic but perfectly suits the film's tone. The film's hockey action sequences are enjoyably fair as the game is on the line with the puck on the stick rather than the fists out of the gloves, but fists and flying blood, not player speed and skill, are the movie's central focus, anyway.

Goon: Last of the Enforcers Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Goon: Last of the Enforcers' 1080p transfer is nicely colorful and adequately detailed. Bright blue Halifax Highlander jerseys and accents are the highlight, along with, of course, bright red blood that covers the ice and splatters all over jerseys. Skin tones are fairly full with only a mild push to paleness, while black levels enjoy impressive depth, whether shadow detail or black jerseys. Details are a little less exacting and exciting. Meshy hockey jerseys don't find the sort of intricate, tactile depth one might find on the very best transfers or with a higher end production. Patches, uniform names and numbers, and other uniform pieces do enjoy sufficient complexity. Skin textures can be a little pasty and flat, but still reveal core basics with relative ease. Overall image clarity is fine.

Goon: Last of the Enforcers Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Goon: Last of the Enforcers' DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is something of a letdown. The presentation lacks verve and command. It's tepid, seemingly afraid to bellow and boast, never engaging with any authority. The track finds suitable width and depth to music and crowd effects at hockey games, but neither stand up and stretch, neither deliver any kind of impactful, engaged presentation. Clarity of sound elements is decent enough, however, and dialogue is smartly positioned and adequately attuned. Prioritization is never an issue with the floundering support elements.

Goon: Last of the Enforcers Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Goon: Last of the Enforcers contains two extras and a DVD copy of the film.

• Behind-the-Scenes (1080p, 15:34): A feature that explores the lead character and core story, additional characters and plot lines, scene details, playing hockey and the necessary physical components, fight scene construction, Jay Baruchel's work as director, and more.
• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Jay Baruchel and Writer Jesse Chabot explore the film with a humorous bend.

Goon: Last of the Enforcers Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Goon: Last of the Enforcers is a fun movie about the dirty life on the ice and tender heart of a soon-to-be father who is in search of his place in life when injury, and a baby, force him to reconsider his career path. Doug lives for the fight. He doesn't just get off on the rush, it's in his blood, and he wears his blood on his sleeve, literally, every time he steps on the ice. It's not much of a surprise where the film will go, but honest and fun performances and a perfectly timed celebration of excess make the movie one of the more enjoyable sports Comedies in some time. Momentum's Blu-ray release features good video, passable audio, and a couple of extras. Recommended.