Well, who would have thought that a professional wrestler would become an actor... not just a star, but a real, true to life 'ACTOR'! Dwayne Johnson has done this and he's seamless with his portrayal of Sean Porter to the letter!
The end of the movie shows several scenes of a documentary where the real Sean Porter is saying the lines that Johnson was speaking in the movie. The Rock makes those lines seem like his own and I bought into every moment of it!
Some characters were from actual kids that were in the L.A. juvie detention center and others were obvious blended characters. Two of the main characters were adversaries at the beginning and they become close... very close friends. This scenario probably has happened in real life, but they are fictionalized blends of probably many. The producers even made the numbers on their jerseys the same, but opposite. One was 13, the other 31... in other words, we are the same, just the sequence is different. I don't know if anyone else caught that, but I found it effective.
Overall, a very good movie with solid acting and a good script with a good ending! I recommend it, but the language is rough. No sugar coating the violence either. Not for kids, not even if the parents are sitting right next to them!
The end of the movie shows several scenes of a documentary where the real Sean Porter is saying the lines that Johnson was speaking in the movie. The Rock makes those lines seem like his own and I bought into every moment of it!
Some characters were from actual kids that were in the L.A. juvie detention center and others were obvious blended characters. Two of the main characters were adversaries at the beginning and they become close... very close friends. This scenario probably has happened in real life, but they are fictionalized blends of probably many. The producers even made the numbers on their jerseys the same, but opposite. One was 13, the other 31... in other words, we are the same, just the sequence is different. I don't know if anyone else caught that, but I found it effective.
Overall, a very good movie with solid acting and a good script with a good ending! I recommend it, but the language is rough. No sugar coating the violence either. Not for kids, not even if the parents are sitting right next to them!