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Sep 18, 2017 By Stephen Mayne Web Exclusive

A sports-comedy about a hockey enforcer who can only wallop the living daylights out of everyone doesn’t sound like the stuff charming underdog stories are made of. Yet Goon (2011) proved remarkably likable, largely off the back of Seann William Scott’s turn as the dim-witted and unceasingly polite hard man with fists of iron. Goon: Last of the Enforcers attempts to recapture the magic, trying to show more is more, and less is more, while proving neither is more in this instance.

Jay Baruchel, who co-wrote and co-starred in the original returns to writing duties while reducing his screen time to step behind the camera. It’s not a particularly successful directing debut, too much left to the resilient shoulders of Scott’s friendly tough man Doug “The Thug” Glatt, with strong support from Liev Schreiber’s former nemesis Ray “The Boss” Rhea.

The story draws from every sports film cliché it can find, including a strong dose of Rocky III as Glatt’s career appears to be ended at the hands of new tough guy Anders Cain (Wyatt Russell). With Rhea’s help, he gets himself back in shape for the inevitable showdown despite carrying the traditional one more hit will end his career injury.

Last of the Enforcers attempts to double down on the success of the first outing, throwing in more violence, more crude jokes, and more of the same character arc. Despite this abundance of more, there’s also a lot less. The jokes come with a much lower success ratio, while Glatt seems a bystander in his own tale. His friendship with star player Xavier LaFlamme (Marc-André Grondin), so hard won last time, is largely forgotten. There are a couple of touching moments between Glatt and Rhea, but not enough, and Cain, aside from Russell’s agreeably unhinged facial expressions, is only a vague presence.

Other returning characters are junked almost entirely. Baruchel saves his foul-mouthed best friend Pat for a few cameo outings, which is no bad thing. Instead we get Mary (Elisha Cuthbert), Eva’s (Alison Pill) mess of a sister, to take up the Pat role with diminishing returns. Most egregiously, Eva is diminished all over, Pill’s one-time love interest and current wife and mother-to-be, left in the ultimate woman stuck at home role. All she has to do is disapprove of Glatt’s fighting, until she doesn’t anymore, because his team needs him. Naturally, that comes first.

Thankfully, Scott remains so damn likeable he’s almost enough to keep this lightweight sequel afloat on his own. There’s little in the way of tension or excitement as old ground is raked up, and the ending doesn’t even attempt to differentiate itself from the first film, but it’s hard not to root for Glatt. Goon: Last of the Enforcers isn’t much of a film, but thanks to its star it’s not a complete waste of time.

Author rating: 5/10