See Goon?

Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeBeing in Brighton again on Wednesday I decided to pop in to the multiplex on the way home and see what was on. Goon was about to start and as I hadn't seen it, and Dr Kermode had been reasonably kind about it, I decided to give it a try. I can understand why he would use the word "sweet" because at heart our Goon, played by Sean William Scott, is nice-but-dim bloke, who wears his heart on his sleeve and is loyal to his ice hockey team and his friends. Unfortunately he is also a man who appears to enjoy his job and whose job is battering his fellow human beings senseless. I find this a little hard to gloss over, even though this is violence between consenting thugs on the ice rink. Nevertheless it is at times funny, consistent in its tone, and has at its heart a quirky romance. Mostly likeable but I still find it disturbing that it is.

Sadly it also reminds me of the horrible things that have been done to my hometown in my lifetime, including destroying wonderful cinemas and not just demolishing SS Brighton, home of the Brighton Tigers ice hockey team, but removing anything resembling a decent ice rink, killing skating and hockey in the town forever. ...or perhaps not: There have been various schemes to bring skating, hockey and the Tigers back. I'm not holding my breath though.

Meanwhile back at Goon, startlingly it appears to be based on real-life and actual footage of its inspiration pasting the stuffing out of various unfortunates can be seen during the credits.