Time: 132 Minutes
Cast:
Vince Vaughn as Bradley Thomas
Jennifer Carpenter as Lauren Thomas
Don Johnson as Warden Tuggs
Udo Kier as The Placid Man
Marc Blucas as Gil
Mustafa Shakir as Andre
Thomas Guiry as Wilson
Director: S. Craig Zahler

Having only seen S. Craig Zahler’s latest movie, Dragged Across Concrete, I was curious about checking out his previous two movies, Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 88. I mainly just knew that the latter had something to do with Vince Vaughn in prison, and it turned out to be great.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 is very well paced, with a gradual buildup, it sets up everything well. From the point that the protagonist is in prison, it really does feel like a descent into the American prison system, all the way down to the hellish depths of maximum security block Cell Block 99, which he has to get to. It is an absolutely brutal and grimy movie, but is still a pulpy melodrama and is sincere with the story. It helps that it has a somewhat straightforward story about a guy doing what he has to in order to save his family. While I do think the slow build up works for the movie, it did feel a little long at 132 minutes.

While this isn’t the first time that Vince Vaughn has played against type and branched outside of comedy, this is very likely his best performance yet. His character does some brutal things but his performance on the whole is very quiet here. There’s a feeling of sadness throughout, and a sense of internal rage just waiting to come out. Jennifer Carpenter is great as Vaughn’s wife, Udo Kier is solid and understated in a minor role, and Don Johnson is having fun as the prison warden.

S. Craig Zahler’s direction is really good. I really liked the 70s aesthetic which feels so much like the grindhouse era. It is so grimy and the use of the blue tone is very effective. One of the standouts of the movie are the brutal and violent sequences. It’s very grisly and gruesome and hits well with the makeup, effects and sounds. Definitely not a movie for the squeamish.

Although a little overlong, Brawl in Cell Block 99 is a brutal and well written and directed thriller, with Vince Vaughn giving a career best performance.