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doomonfilm · 6 years

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Thoughts : Goon - Last of the Enforcers (2017)

The life of a professional athlete may have the potential to be glorious, but it will almost certainly be fleeting and short-lived. In some cases, being an athlete is all that these individuals know how to do, and the transition into square life can be a tough one. Even when father time catches up with them, the spirit and drive that made them excel usually doesn’t subside. After showing how truly glorious the sport of hockey can be, Goon returned with a sequel dedicated to players in the twilight and retirement phase of their careers with Goon: Last of the Enforcers.

The big leagues are in the midst of a strike, meaning that many major level players have found their way down to the minors. Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott), newly appointed as the captain of the Halifax Highlanders, finds his celebration (and career) cut abruptly short at the hands of premier defenseman Anders Cain (Wyatt Russell), son of new Highlanders owner Hyrum Cain (Callum Keith Rennie). With Doug and Eva (Alison Pill) newly married and expecting a child, Doug turns to selling insurance due to make ends meet. Meanwhile, Anders Cain finds himself a Highlander, a newly appointed team captain, and a cancer to the locker room. Doug, in a funk due to his new lot in life, joins Pat (Jay Baruchel) for an exhibition set of hockey fights, only to find himself reacquainted with former foe Ross ‘The Boss’ Rhea (Liev Schreiber). Doug, feeling the call of the game, combines forces with Rhea in an effort to make one last run at the ice in hopes of taking the Highlanders to the promise land of the playoffs.

Where Goon relished in the ridiculousness of its situational humor, Goon: Last of the Enforcers takes a much more bittersweet look at what happens when you can’t skate as fast, shoot as hard or dish out the punishment like you used to be able to. Doug’s fish out of water narrative was key for the first film, but this film works by trying to force him to acclimate to yet another pond, only to have to readjust and find his way in the pond he originally left. It is a direct reflection/correlation of the current sphere of modern day sports (even hockey specifically) where certain positions that traditionally had defined roles are starting to evolve into much more versatile skill set positions.

The concept of family is also given several different shades within the film. Be it Doug and Eva’s growing family and dedication to one another, Hyrum and Anders Cains’ fractured father/son relationship, the team/family dynamic of the Highlanders, or even the throwaway jokes about Pat’s very questionable relationship with his cousin, there is no spotlight that says ‘this is right, this is wrong’. Each relationship is given a chance to show their good parts and bad parts, and even the fractured relationship of the Cain family has value in showing how a personal vendetta can affect much more than just those directly involved.

With Baruchel taking the directorial helm, it’s nice to know that none of the on-ice action is lacking in terms of how it was captured and presented. The on-ice brawls, both in the game and the separate events run by Rhea, are especially crafted well, which offsets the focus on family very well. In essence, where Goon was a film with a singular focus, Goon: Last of the Enforcers is quite the well-balanced overall film.

Seann William Scott comes through once again with the lovable Doug Glatt character, but this time, he really amps up the sympathy we feel for him in coming to grips with his changing life. By comparison, the hints of humanity that Liev Schreiber showed underneath the Rhea character in the first film are amped up just enough to give the character depth while still staying committed to the nature of the character. Wyatt Russell is the MVP of this film, coming on like a true force of nature as the understandable antagonist. Alison Pill comes through with character growth comparable to Schreiber, but much heavier on the endearing nature, while still being aware enough as a character to not cross the line of nagging wife. TJ Miller drops some heavy silliness on the entire proceedings. Repeat performances from Kim Coates, Richard Clarkin (now an assistant coach) and the rest of the original Highlanders are very much welcome and executed well, as all of them are staring father time in the face as well. Keep your eyes open long enough, and you’ll see a handful of current and former NHLers in the mix.

I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with Goon: Last of the Enforcers. It also has me curious to see what kind of output we will get from Jay Baruchel in the future, and it has squarely put Wyatt Russell on my map after a handful of performances with potential that were already on my radar. It’s nice to know that the overtime we got for this franchise was rewarding and well worth the time and effort.

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