Mean Machine Details

Vinnie Jones doesn't stray too far from home for his first leading part, sticking with several of Guy Ritchie's Lock, Stock… company including Snatch producer Matthew Vaughn and an ex-footballer-turned-jailbird role. But what this remake of Robert Aldrich's 1974 movie The Mean Machine — remember, ex-football pro Burt Reynolds trained his fellow convicts to take on the guards — really misses is Ritchie himself, since first-time director Barry Skolnick and his writers lack the creativity and vitality of Madonna's film-making husband. That said, if you can overlook the rather thin characters and simplistic plot, the film's final third — an ill-tempered soccer match between warders and inmates — is very well filmed and highly entertaining. Jones isn't bad in a made-to-measure role, though the movie's best shots on goal come from Jason Statham's maverick keeper and Jason Flemyng's unconventional commentator. Definitely one for the boys.

Unsuccessful attempt to make a star of a former footballer of limited acting ability, who was notorious for his tough-guy attitude on the field; the threadbare, hand-me-down script doesn't help.