So here is the true story of the Grid Iron gang. The movie starts off with Roger Weathers (Michael J. Pagan), a guy who is going to be released from juvenile hall tomorrow. He assaults a guy in the building just because the guy 'dissed his hood.' Sean Porter (my man, the Rock), is the guy that is in charge of looking after these kids (but isn't top dog in the building), and throws Roger into solitary confinement. When asked what he's going to do with his life, Roger responds with going back to the ghetto with his gang and living a long life. Sean corrects him by saying that if he joins his gang, he's only going to be shot, and he shouldn't ruin his life this way. Roger is released the next day, and is welcomed back into his gang (the 88s) by his cousin, Willie Weathers (Jade Yorker). Soon, however, they are approached by some other 88s, saying that a bunch of 95s (another gang, with an equally creative name) stole a bike from a relative of an 88. They get Willie and Roger 'gats' [slang for gun], and send them to the 95 headquarters, a 95 cent store (genius, eh?). Suddenly, a car comes by and does an uzi-style drive-by, taking out a bunch of 88s. The survivors, including make a run for it, and Roger is hit/killed by the speeding car (WHAM... ironic, anyone?). Willie escapes, and tries to take revenge on families of the 95s, but is unable to pull the trigger on the innocent people. So instead he pops a cap (three, to be exact) in his mother's abusive boyfriend. When Willie winds up in the same place as Roger, Sean decides to turn the boys' energy into something productive, so that Willie won't wind up with the same fate. The rest of the movie tells of the struggles these boys face as a newly-formed football team, and how they achieve greatness. I thought this was a good movie, but it wasn't entirely memorable. Come 2009 or so, if anyone would ask me about it, I would have little idea what they're talking about. By now, the movie isn't in theaters anymore, but when it comes out on DVD, I suggest renting or buying it. Your choice.
