{"id":3201,"date":"2018-02-07T06:36:47","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T06:36:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bryanbuser.com\/365moviesbyday\/?p=3201"},"modified":"2024-07-22T19:42:19","modified_gmt":"2024-07-22T19:42:19","slug":"brawl-in-cell-block-99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/365moviesbyday.bryanbuser.com\/brawl-in-cell-block-99\/","title":{"rendered":"Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I love a good prison movie. Similarly to how I enjoy films set on trains, edgier (i.e., PG13 or greater) sports movies, alien movies, shipwreck movies, or survival movies set in the jungle, there is something about a good prison movie that perks my intrigue, keeps me interested, and has me thinking about it long after it’s over.\u00a0The Shawshank Redemption<\/a>,\u00a0The Green Mile<\/a>, The Hurricane, Rescue Dawn, Escape from Alcatraz, Lock Up, Murder in the First, Midnight Express, Brokedown Palace, Dead Man Walking<\/a>, The Longest Yard, Felon, Law Abiding Citizen, Death Race<\/em>, and others.<\/em>\u00a0So what could a prison movie offer that we haven’t seen before on the silver screen or television dramas like\u00a0Prison Break<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Oz<\/em>\u00a0or television documentary shows like\u00a0Lockup<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0Locked Up Abroad<\/em>? There are plenty of options for getting your prison fix. But you haven’t seen something in S. Craig Zahler’s (Bone Tomahawk<\/em>)\u00a0Brawl in Cell Block 99<\/em>. Could it be that it’s the most brutal prison movie ever made? You could argue that it is. It certainly could be the goriest. If you have yet to see the horror-western\u00a0Bone Tomahawk<\/em>, prepare yourself. I had heard about it but still wasn’t ready for what I saw. I was not too fond of it. But I am going to go back and watch it again. And the reason for that is how much I really enjoyed\u00a0Brawl in Cell Block 99<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Back in the day, before he was killing it with comedies such as\u00a0Dodgeball – A True Underdog Story, Old School,\u00a0Wedding Crashers<\/a>,\u00a0The Internship<\/a>, Delivery Man,<\/em>\u00a0and others, Vince Vaughn was trying his hand at dramas and thrillers where he was mildly successful. He was great in\u00a0Swingers<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Cell.<\/em>\u00a0I liked Domestic Disturbance<\/em> (though I don’t think I would enjoy watching it now as much as I did at age 25). He returned to show his dramatic side with 2016’s Hacksaw Ridge<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and season 2 of HBO’s\u00a0True Detective<\/em>. Vaughn is a badass. He can do comedy, drama, and thriller. In my book, you are a good actor if you can cross genres as successfully and frequently as he does.<\/p>\n

I would never have known about this movie had I not listened to my favorite movie podcast,\u00a0The Film Vault<\/em>. The hosts, Anderson and Bryan, each week start their episode by confessing to the flicks they watched over the previous week. They often bring up films I would never have known existed, let alone watched. Both of them (but notably Anderson) hit on so many finds that I write down each movie they recommend so that I can look them up later and decide if I want to watch it or not. For example, both raved about the wild and crazy Green Room<\/em>\u00a0(a movie I enjoyed and may or may not review).<\/p>\n

\"brawl<\/p>\n

When Anderson mentioned Brawl in Cell Block 99<\/em>, I was immediately intrigued, both because he recommended it and because of the title. I immediately added it to my queue without even researching it. So when a guy that looked like Vaughn showed up in the first scene, I remember commenting out loud how much this character looked like him. It took me five minutes to watch this film before I finally relented and looked it up on\u00a0Rotten Tomatoes<\/a>. And sure enough, the man who looked like Vaughn was, in fact, Vaughn. So then I began wondering why I hadn’t heard about this movie before.\u00a0Bone Tomahawk<\/em>\u00a0has a considerable cult following. This follow-up already had the name recognition of\u00a0Zahler, meaning it should have been more well-known, and it outscored\u00a0Bone Tomahawk<\/em>\u00a0by 92% to 90% on Rotten Tomatoes.<\/p>\n

The movie revolves around antihero Bradley Thomas (Vaughn), a skinhead drug dealer who had been on the straight and narrow. But when Thomas is laid off from his auto repairman\/tow truck driver job, he becomes desperate to make a quick buck. He returns to being a drug runner, but not before he dismantles a car with his bare hands after learning that Lauren\u00a0(Jennifer Carpenter –\u00a0Quarantine<\/em>, Showtime’s\u00a0Dexter<\/em>) had been cheating on him. I don’t know the importance of this other than seeing that he has a maniacal side. We see how strong Bradley is and that sometimes, he cannot harness his anger. He forgives his wife and then learns that she is expecting the couple’s first child. Again, I don’t know the importance of this other than to give Bradley something to fight for and do anything for when he is in prison and forced to make difficult decisions.<\/p>\n

Bradley finds himself in the slammer after his boss Gil (Marc Blucas –\u00a0Pleasantville, The Alamo<\/em>) makes a deal with a cartel head. The job went wrong, and Bradley could have cleared himself from the situation, but his conscience got the better of him, and he ended up killing two of the cartel head’s men when they started shooting at the police. He heads to a medium-security prison to serve his team. We are introduced to a pretty dire situation, but it’s not treacherous. We feel Bradley’s sense of dismay when he gets hassled by the security guard on his block and then steps into that 8 x 10 cell for the first time. It’s not like Bradley is happy about his situation, but he plans to keep his nose clean and serve his time. But this isn’t in the cards for Bradley. While he’s serving his debt to society, he hasn’t even begun the retribution process with Gil for the killing of his men. Lauren has been kidnapped, and she and their unborn child are in danger unless Gil does what he is told. He is told he must force a transfer to Redleaf Maximum Security Prison and then, once there, into the notorious cell block 99, where he must assassinate a specific inmate who Gil needs to be killed. If he does this, his debt will be paid. If he does not, an abortionist will amputate the fetus. The one rule about cell block 99 is that there are no rules. It is run by Warden Tuggs (Don Johnson – Tin Cup, Cold in July<\/em>), who does what he wants when he wants. Its inmates are the worst of the worst. There is no hope that the men in cell block 99 will get out. And Bradley knows it. He also knows he has no choice.<\/p>\n

\"brawl<\/p>\n

From this point forward, it just becomes an insane race to the finish. It’s almost like\u00a0Apocolypse Now<\/em>\u00a0meets\u00a0mother!<\/em><\/a>\u00a0meets\u00a0Lockup.<\/em>\u00a0The action is relentless, and, ironically, what keeps it believable to me is one question. Do we really know what happens behind closed doors in some of these maximum security prisons? We hear about inmate mistreatment, but we also know that the inmate must be a pretty awful human being to get into this position. It’s one of those things that we truly don’t want to think about other than to be grateful that we are not in any situation like that. Bradley plays this part coolly. He never gets too high or too low. He’s tasked-based. A problem arises. Bradley thinks about it, and then he handles it.<\/p>\n

The movie gets past the point of control and goes insane. But in a good way. I don’t feel the same about Bone Tomahawk, but<\/em> I’d watch it again. Vaughn holds his own in this dramatic role. Johnson and the other actors were serviceable in what they were asked to do. Overall, it’s a neat ride that certainly will be too intense and violent for some. But, if you aren’t bothered by brutality in your films and go into this knowing to expect the unexpected, you’ll be rewarded. But again, this movie is not for everyone. But I liked it a lot.<\/p>\n

Plot 8.5\/10
\nCharacter Development 7\/10
\nCharacter Chemistry 7\/10
\nActing 7.5\/10
\nScreenplay 7.5\/10
\nDirecting 8\/10
\nCinematography 8\/10
\nSound 7.5\/10
\nHook and Reel 8\/10
\nUniversal Relevance 8\/10
\n77%<\/p>\n

C+<\/p>\n

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