Synopsis
After working as a drug courier and getting into a brutal shootout with police, a former boxer finds himself at the mercy of his enemies as they force him to instigate violent acts that turn the prison he resides in into a battleground.
Votre Filmothèque
Cast
- Vince VaughnBradley Thomas
- Jennifer CarpenterLauren Thomas
- Don JohnsonWarden Tuggs
- Udo KierThe Placid Man
- Dion MucciacitoEleazar
- Geno SegersRoman
- Mustafa ShakirAndre
- Marc BlucasGil
- Tom GuiryWilson
- Fred MelamedMr Irving
Recommandations
- 91
The Playlist
It’s Vaughn’s caged-beast charisma (that bounces off the screen long before he is actually caged) and way with a wink or a pithy putdown that keeps us riveted through the substantial sections of the film where heads remain, for the time being, unstomped. - 91
The A.V. Club
Equally remarkable and counterintuitive is Vaughn’s performance. He pulls a Bruce Willis here, shaving his head and substituting intimidating stillness for his trademark motormouthed hyperactivity. The transformation suits him surprisingly well. - 80
CineVue
Brawl in Cell Block 99 is a midnight movie to relish. - 80
Variety
It’s the rare movie that truly evokes the grindhouse ’70s, because it means everything it’s doing. It’s exploitation made with vicious sincerity. - 75
Slant Magazine
Brawl in Cell Block 99 rarely drags, even when delivering exposition, and the economy of the storytelling is as efficiently brutal as the eventual skull-crackings. - 75
New York Post
Vaughn is so committed and so unrecognizable here, he actually convinces his rapt audience that a murderous rampage through the penitentiary system is a brilliant idea. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
While Brawl in Cell Block 99 remains gripping and unpredictable throughout, the two-and-a-quarter-hour running time does feel a tad bloated, and the movie might benefit from being trimmed by 20 minutes or so into a tauter edit. - 67
IndieWire
Brawl in Cell Block 99 unleashes a fascinating gamble, blending the grimy aesthetic of a one-note action movie with undercurrents of blue-collar frustration. It doesn’t quite succeed at fusing those two elements, but it’s further proof of a filmmaking sensibility willing to push beyond the presumed barriers of formula.
