Doug Glatt (Seann William Scott) is a none-to-bright bouncer from New England who finds a meaning in life by becoming a fighter on skates, an enforcer for a Halifax minor league hockey team. The very likable Scott has the size and physicality to convince, while director Michael Dowse delivers some solid play around the puck. Though the comedy and sports movie tropes are far from original, care to both makes
Goon score like Marchand: ribald and warm-hearted on one hand, fun and more than a little violent on the other. It may be ill-timed---a blunt satire on hockey violence or just bloody-fisted glorification? Feel free to debate---but ignore that Halifax looks like Winnipeg (where it was shot) and you’ve got a surprisingly good time at the movies.