Goon: Last of the Enforcers

2011's Goon was an engaging, albeit violent, comedy featuring an ingratiating performance by Seann William Scott as a childlike bouncer hired to be the enforcer on a minor-league Canadian hockey team. Despite the return of virtually all of the original cast, this sequel not only fails to score a goal, it barely approaches the net. Scott's Doug Glatt is still the enforcer for the Halifax Highlanders, pummeling opposing players who hurt his teammates, but also coming across as an extraordinarily nice guy, even apologizing while he beats up his victims. But he meets his match in Anders Cain (a snarling Wyatt Russell), the enforcer for an opposing team, who clobbers him so badly during a rink altercation that his career is ended. When the Highlanders' sleazy owner hires Cain as Doug's replacement, however, Doug persuades veteran enforcer Ross Rhea (Liev Schreiber)—the villain from the original movie—to train him to fight as a lefty so he can make a comeback. You would have to be as dull-witted as Glatt not to absolutely know that a showdown is inevitable in the most important game of the season. This unpromising scenario plays out with far more raunch than humor, featuring violence that has exponentially increased from the first Goon. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)