Philadelphia Inquirer by Steven Rea

A likably energetic star vehicle for English sports god Vinnie Jones.

Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert

Guy Ritchie, who started out as such an innovator in "Lock, Stock, etc.," seems to have headed directly for reliable generic conventions as a producer. But they are reliable, and have become conventions for a reason: They work. Mean Machine is what it is, and very nicely, too.

Los Angeles Times by Kevin Thomas

Mean Machine may not have the resonance to linger in the memory affectionately as "The Longest Yard" does, but it plays well, with a fast pace and plenty of punch.

Miami Herald by René Rodríguez

Disappointingly straightforward remake.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

In Mean Machine, soccer is pretty much an excuse to watch a bunch of grown men smashing their heads together. Which, come to think of it, may be enough.

Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman

After too many ''Full Monty''s, it has come to look like nothing so much as a coy ritual of emasculation.

Village Voice

The most off-key notes here are the sentimental ones: When David Kelly shows up, reprising the wise-trustee role he had in the horticulture-behind-bars movie "Greenfingers," it's as though some twee script gremlin sneaked in and meddled with the Guy Ritchie schematics.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Rick Groen

Barely a chuckle in sight.

Portland Oregonian by Shawn Levy

A by-the-numbers recipe that ought to have shot off at least a few sparks, is as drab as the inmates' prison blues.

Washington Post by Desson Thomson

Dramatically lackluster.