As probation officer Sean Porter, who in real life gave a group of incarcerated juvenile offenders a second chance by creating a football team for them, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson performs so many corny inspirational speeches that his mouth might as well transform into a triumphant horn. We’re supposed to give in to this shamelessness because it’s based on a true story. But does it really matter that, in documentary footage shown over the end credits, we see the actual Porter speaking this way to his players, sometimes line for line? Not really. What worked on the actual football field doesn’t work in the movie.
