Directed by:
S. Craig ZahlerScreenplay:
S. Craig ZahlerCinematography:
Benji BakshiCast:
Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Don Johnson, Udo Kier, Geno Segers, Dion Mucciacito, Fred Melamed, Rob Morgan, Tom Guiry, Marc Blucas, Dan Amboyer, Pooja Kumar (more)Plots(1)
When former boxer (Vince Vaughn) loses his job and is faced with the breakdown of his marriage, he decides to take a job as a drug courier to turn his fortunes around and provide a comfortable life for his wife Lauren (Jennifer Carpenter). Just as his situation begins to improve, a savage gunfight lands Bradley in jail where he has to make a series of impossible, chilling decisions to protect those he holds dear. Backed into a corner, Bradley now finds himself forced to commit ever more ferocious acts of violence across a vicious prison battleground on the path to the most dangerous confinement of all - Cell Block 99. (Universal Pictures UK)
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Reviews (16)
Zahler really is great at writing both screenplays and books. That's why it's unexpectedly strange that this time he's writing betrays him. While the first half (and especially the prologue) is slow but not too slow time to support the motivations and to trigger the rage thriving inside Bradley "Hulk" Thomas, the second will ruin everything as soon as the system is entered. The characters in it are flat and almost unintentionally ridiculous. There is lack of action (which is not wrong), but it´s sloppy slow (which is wrong), the plot is completely absent, the locations of prisons are convincing, probably in the same was as promises during the election campaign. Instead of a straightforward strike (benefiting from Bradley's consistently constructed motivation), the movie starts to rely on absurd slowness. However, not in terms of style, which would build the tension of silence before the storm or pay attention to the characters, but superfluous, because it should have ended by tens of minutes earlier in the editing room. And the more is Vaughn being respectful in his initial civilian "d'Onofrio's" position, the less he fits in the subsequent jailbird position of a puncher acting in appaling style of Michael "Bronson" Peterson. Just another average grindhouse that takes advantage of the fact that there has not been any serious one in a long time.
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The story of Lamps and Brawl in Block 99 or How recognition becomes wonder. It doesn’t matter that it's a "low-brow", almost abstractly violent film in which one guy beats a whole bunch of enemies to smithereens. Brawl in Block 99 is a unique, unpredictable and brutal alternative to the bloated grindhouse genre, where the protagonist is much closer to the common man and the style imitates his development, first with austerity and minimalism, then with the use of surreal environments and detailed violence, which becomes the only possible way out; and culminating in an emotional climax that will blow you away. A superb Vaughn and a brilliant Zahler, who was born for this brawl. I have a feeling that when future generations of viewers debate cult films from the early part of this century, this unprecedented carnage will be at the top of the rankings.
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A bit better compared to the directors debut. The uncompromising violence is now not an end in itself, but serves well in the compelling story of the anti-avenger played by Vince Vaughn, the protector of a family for whom the role is a solid fling, thankfully in a positive sense. As a prison drama, it's probably not entirely realistic, but as a bizarre probe into the world of violence, unspoken emotions and anger, it is very impressive. Lots of long shots full of despair and grief interspersed with moments of unreal carnage where broken arms and crushed skulls are the order of the day. Zahler delivers something that you don’t see often in the film world, but it's also far from being for everyone. Similarly innovative in the prison genre as the recent Shot Caller, only much slower and rougher.
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A unique film without compromises which I don’t know what other movie I can compare it with in terms of atmosphere, impression or feeling – something that doesn’t happen very often in modern filmmaking. The main character looks like a “Trumpist redneck”, but the joke here is that if you are expecting him to behave based on the prejudice about his appearance, he will surprise you with how much more there is to him. The second joke is that you will still get some violence delivered by, but to such extent and so weirdly executed that it has an almost transcendental effect. It basically doesn’t look like a film. The whole movie has a fairly ugly cinematography (digital colours, unpleasant and unusual angles), the fighting scenes are almost uncut and frequently shot in unnaturally large set pieces, and the gore also looks differently than in other films. Like, I’ve never seen a tramped skull, but the fact that here it looks different than in a million other films gave me impression that I’m maybe seeing it for the first time ever. Rather than a film, Brawl in Cell Block 99 reminded me of a very realistic dream that gradually turns into a nightmare into which you plunge deeper and deeper. In any case, one of the films of the year.
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Arty grind-house that crushes skulls with its slow pace and human cruiser Vince Vaughn. Extremely precisely constructed tension and the director's brilliantly managed jump from a realistic introduction to a consistently B-movie finale in the environment of a cellar hell for invited psychopaths. Feat. Great cameos for frog eyes Udo Kier and the verbal frost of Frank Melamed. This is a portrait of a world that knows no mercy, with razor contours. Bradley Thomas is the hardest and coldest fucking bastard on the suffering market. North of OK, south of cancer. In my ideal world, people like S. Craig Zahler would win directing awards at big festivals. Because, for God's sake, this is an INNOVATIVE kick in the nuts, a director’s masterclass, whilst also being a genre film that had me invested since the first second.
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