*Originally written October 14th, 2017*
"Prison fight"
Not what I expected at all. I was a big fan of S. Craig Zahler's previous film Bone Tomahawk, but there's just something about prison films that really put me off. While I tend to almost always enjoy them. The thought about spending two hours within the confined space of a prison just bores me. Then there's the issue of Vince Vaughn, an actor I tend to usually hate. Except in Dodgeball, Dodgeball is a masterpiece. If you haven't seen Dodgeball, see Dodgeball.
Brawl in Cell Block 99 finds Vince Vaughn playing against type as an ex-alcoholic, ex-boxer who is fired from his job and begins working as a drug runner. A job goes wrong and he finds himself in prison, but is forced to kill someone in the prison after his ex boss kidnaps his pregnant wife and will have a Korean abortionist mutilate his baby in the womb. I did not make that up. I expect no less from the man who made Bone Tomahawk.
I'd heard Brawl was a violent film, but this is some of the most grizzly and disgusting stuff I've seen all year. For a two hour film, there is not actually that much violence, but when it finally happens, my god it is effective. Lots of use of really graphic and practical effects which look disgusting. I never thought I'd see a mans face look like that after being dragged across concrete. Zahler directs the action with weight and precision in a way that sort of reminded me of the Raid films. Everything was in camera and brutal, it was pure exploitation film making from another era. I could easily see this as a film from the '90s.
I've mentioned I don't like Vince Vaughn, but this is by far the best I've ever seen him. The first time his character isn't just a complete douche-bag. He completely loses himself in the role as Bradley Thomas, a man who is a walking tank of destruction, and while he has his moments of explosive violence and rage, he still manages to give a subdued performance that was far from one note. There's even some genuinely effective moments of emotion towards the end as Bradley seems to accept his fate and the consequences of what he has to do.
It was kind of impossible not to root for Bradley, despite being a violent drug runner, he's got a moral compass and is actually quite likeable. His plight through the increasingly horrible prison system is relentless too, that poor guy never gets a break. There's a magnificent scene at the beginning where he tears apart a car with his bare hands. It was a wonder to behold and it was around that point I think I knew I was going to love this.
My biggest complaint with Bone Tomahawk was that it was a bit too long and dragged at times, but I never had that problem with Brawl. It's a fairly slow-paced film, but I was into it for near enough every second. We spend enough time with Bradley and his wife in the first act to invest you in the stakes of all the stuff in prison. And while being a prison film, it never spends to long in one place as Bradley has to work his way up to the maximum security wing of the prison in Cell Block 99 run by a really fun Don Johnson.
I don't really have that many problems with Brawl in all honesty. I won't spoil it, but the final shot of the film is ruined by one of the fakest looking prosthetic heads I've ever seen, which kinda left the film on a tiny sour note, but that was a 1 second shot in an over 2 hour film, so I can't hold that against it too much.
Brawl in Cell Block 99 is one of my biggest surprises of the year. A brutally violent, extremely entertaining and just plain demented films of the year that also features the best performance of Vince Vaughn's career. I cannot wait to see S. Craig Zahler's next film.
9/10 Dans
Brawl in Cell Block 99 hits cinemas on the UK from October 20th
Watch the trailer below:
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