IMDb > Mean Machine (2001)
Mean Machine
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Mean Machine (2001) More at IMDbPro »

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Mean Machine (2001) -- Virgin.net Movies - Trailer (WMP)

Overview

User Rating:
6.3/10   11,355 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 12% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Tracy Keenan Wynn (earlier screenplay "The Longest Yard")
Charlie Fletcher (screenplay) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Mean Machine on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 December 2001 (UK) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Not Your Usual Suspects more
Plot:
A soccer star jailed for assault leads a group of inmates in a match against prison guards. full summary | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
(8 articles)
"He Doesn't Have My Permission to Die Yet!": Twelve Evil Movie Wardens
 (From IFC. 3 September 2009, 7:43 AM, PDT)

Live action Wacky Races!
 (From Comicmix. 31 July 2009, 4:46 AM, PDT)

User Comments:
Rage Against The Machine more (72 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Vinnie Jones ... Danny Meehan

David Kelly ... Doc
David Hemmings ... Governor

Ralph Brown ... Burton

Vas Blackwood ... Massive
Robbie Gee ... Trojan
Geoff Bell ... Ratchett
John Forgeham ... Charlie Sykes
Sally Phillips ... Tracey

Danny Dyer ... Billy the Limpet

Jason Flemyng ... Bob Likely

Jason Statham ... Monk
Martin Wimbush ... Z
David Reid ... Barman
David Cropman ... Second Barman
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for language and some violence.
Runtime:
99 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
At the end of the movie the match commentators give the following speech: "Guards of Pentonville, guards of Wandsworth, Walton nick in Liverpool, policemen of Britain, traffic wardens and parole officers, wheel clampers, your boys have taken a hell of a beating today! A hell of a beating!" This speech is a direct reference to Norwegian sports commentator Bjørge Lillelien who made British headlines, when in 1981, Norway beat England during the 1982 World Cup qualifiers and he gave the following emotional response: "[In Norwegian] We are the best in the world! We are the best in the world! We have beaten England 2-1 at football! It is totally incredible! We have beaten England! England, home of giants: Looooord Nelson, Looooord Beaverbrook, Sir Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Clement Attlee, Henry Cooper, Lady Diana. We have beaten them all, we have beaten them all! [In English] Maggie Thatcher, can you hear me? [In Norwegian] Maggie Thatcher, I have a message to you during the election: We have beaten England out of the World Championship in football! Maggie Thatcher, as they say in your language in the boxing-bars around Madison Square Garden: [in English] Your boys took a hell of a beating! Your boys took a hell of a beating!" However, despite the loss, England continued on to qualify for the World Cup finals, while Norway did not. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: During the explosion in the final scene, the wall can be seen to flex, indicating that it is made of something more flimsy than a real prison wall. more
Quotes:
Hayter: Prison Guard to Secretary: I wouldn't get too close Miss.
Tracey: Secretary to Danny: Why? You're not dangerous. Are you Mr. Footballer?
Danny Meehan: Danny to Secretary: Only if you've got a ball Miss.
more
Movie Connections:
References Tarzan the Ape Man (1932) more
Soundtrack:
Baggy Trousers more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
6 out of 7 people found the following comment useful.
Rage Against The Machine, 1 June 2008
Author: Senyales from Fraggle Rock

Based on Keenan Wynn's 'The Longest Yard', Fletcher adds Brit wit to the screenplay as Skolnick directs a splendid film. Of course the story isn't anything new (like most sports flicks) but the humour brings out the charm. The characters are fun to watch and funnily enough the actors have famously starred in Guy Ritchie films. It's as if they were in prison for the crimes they committed in those films. But, just to avoid any misconception, this isn't a crime-flick and it's very different from the Ritchie films, both in style and content. One doesn't have to be a football fan to enjoy it as the entertainment value is universal. The football match sequence was hilarious and if only the real matches were half entertaining! All the actors do a fine job but it is Vinnie Jones who carries the movie and it's nice to see him as a guy who gets beaten up in comparison to the tough guy roles he's typecast in. Overall, this is a fun little film, not one to be taken too seriously.

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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
rip off of longest hard and the great escape bhall4472
football vs yank handball medwaymodernist
ryan giggs a prison guard? Found_Nezha
Name that song/artist Phenom9
Barry Skolnick mr_banana_pants
Racial Switch-Mean Machine vs. Longest Yard piedra_2
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