I started seeing articles about BRAWL IN CELL BLOCK 99 earlier this year, maybe even late last year. The articles were saying how intense the movie was, marking it as one of the best action/thrillers of the previous year. We here at Blood Work love a good action film so we made a mental note to check it out and added it to the long list. Then a friend of ours saw it and told us how amazing it was and that we needed to see it. So we moved it up higher on the priority list. And not long ago we finally saw it for ourselves.
The revelation that this film was from the same man who brought us Bone Tomahawk hadn't occurred to us yet. At the end of the film when credits started rolling and I realized who the director was and what they had done prior, I made another mental note:
Watch everything that S. Craig Zahler does from here on out.
Brawl In Cell Block 99 was awesome.
THE PLOT
Life has been hard for Bradley Thomas and his wife, Lauren. A miscarriage, loss of a job, marriage on the rocks, and a declining quality of life have pushed Bradley to the breaking point. He breaks his vow and returns to running drugs. 18 months later they're living in a nice home, Lauren is nearly to term with her pregnancy, and their marriage is stronger than ever. Bradley boss sends him on a sketchy drug run with less than trustworthy associates. The run goes south and Bradley lands in a minimum security prison. The drug supplier kidnaps Lauren and threatens to abort their child unless Bradley concedes to his demands: kill a man in a maximum security prison. Bradley agrees, is transferred to the super max prison, and begins tearing through the inmates to get to his target.
WHAT I LIKED
70's Vibe. From the lighting to the cinematography, the one-liners, and the brutality, it all had a retro atmosphere to it that I dug. It felt akin to one of my favorite movies, John Carpenter's ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13. The film feels rough and raw like a John Carpenter film or a Grindhouse movie from the 70's. Then there's the soundtrack which at first felt very retro, something similar to the soundtracks from early Quentin Tarantino films. The soundtrack gets away from sounding too much like a Tarantino flick a little later and becomes its own but still retains that retro vibe. Then there's the dialog, packed with great one-liners, that's feels like something out of the 60's or 70's.
The Violence. Getting back to that raw and rough feeling, the action and violence in this movie is just that. It doesn't feel like a Hollywood action movie. The violence isn't glamorous or spectacular. It's painful, brutal, and shocking. And there's some stuff in here that I've never seen before such as a dude getting his face scrapped off along the cement. There's some epic bone snapping and hard-hitting punches. It was like seeing violence on screen through new eyes.
Vince Vaughn is incredible in this film too. At the onset he keeps you guessing as to what kind of character he is and how you'll feel about him. As the movie goes on you can't help but root for him. His character is so completely honest and loyal that you just want the best for the guy. And when the villains go after him you want to see him destroy them. Jennifer Carpenter and Don Johnson deliver some great performances too. And Udo Kier and Mustafa Shakir were wonderful bit players here too.
NITPICKS
I got none. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. Is it perfect? No. What movie is? Is it the greatest movie you'll ever see? Probably not. Is it good? Hell yes. I loved the hero and I hated the badguys. I liked the look and style of the film. The writing was great and the soundtrack was cool. If I had to complain about anything with this movie it's that it ended. I wanted more, not necessarily more movie, but more of the awesomeness that the cast and crew were selling. I can't wait to see what this director does next. If you have similar tastes to those of Blood Work, put the films of S. Craig Zahler on your watch list.
THE VERDICT
Brawl In Cell Block 99 feels like an old forgotten classic, newly unearthed, the kind where you say, "Oh yeah! I forgot how awesome this movie is." Except this movie is new. The movie is retro, raw, and brutal. Vince Vaughn kills it as the hero and the one-liners between him and Don Johnson are jaw dropping. After Bone Tomahawk and Brawl In Cell Block 99, S. Craig Zahler is now on the "must watch" list of directors. Brawl In Cell Block 99 is one helluva movie. Check it out!
Overall Ranking: 8 out of 10
Nude-O-Meter: 1 out of 10
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