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Review: Hockey comedy ‘Goon: Last of the Enforcers’ is a zipless debut as director for Jay Baruchel

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That old line “I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out,” informs “Goon: Last of the Enforcers,” a raunchy, ploddingly unfunny comedy sequel to 2012’s equally crass but disarmingly endearing “Goon.”

Seann William Scott once again takes to the ice as Doug Glatt, the low-key star enforcer for the Halifax Highlanders who makes up for a lack of scintillating personality with his fists.

But after suffering a major beat-down at the hands of ruthless rival Anders Cane (an effective Wyatt Russell, Kurt’s kid), Glatt opts to hang up the blood-soaked towel, trading in his dream of playing in the big league for a considerably more benign job as an insurance salesman, pleasing his pregnant wife (Alison Pill).

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Of course, you know it won’t be long before Doug returns to the scene of his former glory, and he ends up doing so with some “Rocky”-like guidance from his former nemesis Ross Rhea (a returning, pitch-perfect Liev Schreiber).

Unfortunately, actor Jay Baruchel, who co-wrote both films and makes his directing debut here, hasn’t found the energetic balance between the crude, the slapstick and the sweet that made the previous, Michael Dowse-directed effort an unassuming treat, resulting in an uninspired rematch that’s about as zippy as a Zamboni.

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‘Goon: Last of the Enforcers’

Rating: R for pervasive language, crude sexual content and bloody sports violence

Running time: 1 hour, 41 minutes

Playing: Vintage Los Feliz 3, Los Angeles; also on VOD

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