Jailhouse Rock: Review of Brawl in Cell Block 99

Brawl in Cell Block 99

Director: S. Craig Zahler

By Alex Watson


Vince Vaughn is an actor that many people still disregard. S.Craig Zahler's Brawl in Cell Block 99 might just cast a whole new perspective on this man. Turning a career-best performance, Vaughn shows a newer and tougher side to his persona. Currently going through a career renaissance, the 47-year-old shows he might be casting off the shackles of his comedic past.

Bradley Thomas (Vince Vaughn) is a former tow truck driver turned successful drug runner. When he is arrested in a botched police bust, Thomas refuses to talk and is given seven years in jail. While in a medium-security prison, Thomas is informed by a creepy middleman (Udo Kier) that his former boss has captured his pregnant wife Lauren (Jennifer Carpenter). To erase the debt caused by his imprisonment, he must get transferred to maximum security and kill a man in Cellblock 99.

A quietly ferocious presence throughout, Bradley Thomas from the opening frame shows he is not a man to be messed with. Fired from his job as a tow truck driver- Thomas wordlessly drives home and finds his wife about to leave him. Rather than screaming and shouting, he instead goes to town ripping apart her car. All of his anger and frustration with life are channelled through this bending of metal. Quick to remind people he's called Bradley, not Brad- Thomas is a man who has a 'get her done' attitude which leads to his vast success as a gun runner. Zahler takes his time actually getting Bradley behind bars- remaining loyal to his values is what sees him get in trouble. At first, he gets put in a safer prison and seems content to just do his time and come home to his wife and future child.

The first hour of Brawl in Cell Block 99 trundles along at a steady pace- but when Bradley is given his ultimatum inside the jail, the movie is given a huge shot of adrenaline. At first a placid character, the second half sees our hero becoming a hulking figure of revenge. Informed that his wife has been taken and that his unborn child will be mutilated by an abortionist if doesn't comply, you can almost feel the anger on his lips. Zahler's film becomes a thrill ride from this point and he doesn't hold on back on the gory details. Picking fights with both prisons and guards alike to get closer to this target, Bradley will do whatever it takes. Watching the bones break and the blood spray, audiences will definitely squirm in discomfort.

Getting landed in max proves to be a tricky last step as it lands him in the custody of the slipper Warden Tuggs (a scene-stealing Don Johnson). Tuggs is a man who believes in 'limited freedom' which will become even more limited the more Bradley pisses him off. When he goes past the point of the no-return, our hero never once blinks. His sheer physical presence alone marks him out a real danger. In one scene he cooly beats the seven bells out of a gang of prison yard thugs without breaking a sweat. It becomes clear that he may be fighting a losing battle, but his well-being is the furthest thing from his mind. Zahler takes us the dark region of a desperate man, but it is presented with a gritty cool that makes all the more fascinating.

After impressive turns in Hacksaw Ridge and True Detective, Vaughn has now become a fascinating talent. Effortlessly keep this picture together, Vaughn shows no strain at the physical side of this role. His Bradley Thomas is a one-man machine and although he is going through every person's worst nightmare, he keeps his composure. This picture shows a whole new ability of the man known for his easy money slacker films. You might be expecting Owen Wilson or Ben Stiller to appear at first, but once Vaughn gets going it is impossible to take our eyes off him.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 might not be easy viewing, but it is a tight and tense thriller that showcases the talents of Vaughn and Zahler.