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"Dragged Across Concrete" dir. by S. Craig Zahler


"Dragged Across Concrete"

Where I watched it: Tubi

Another intense film by S. Craig Zahler. While this one maintains all of the trademarks of an S. Craig Zahler film (extreme violence, practical effects, ever-present tension) it might be his most challenging film yet, for a couple of reasons.

The first reason is its pacing. The film is almost 3 hours long and it moves very slowly. Most of the movie in fact is dialogue. Don't get me wrong, it's engaging dialogue but some viewers might not have the patience for it depending on what headspace they're in while watching it.

The second reason is that basically everyone in this movie is a huge piece of shit. The main characters played by Mel Gibson (real life piece of shit) and Vince Vaughn are terrible, abusive, crooked cops. The film starts with the two of them using excessive force on a suspect of visible minority in a way that will ring all too familiar for a lot of viewers.

We follow these two a-hole cops on a heist after they are suspended from the force due to their display of police brutality. It's actually a heist of a heist if you can imagine. Basically the cops are suspended without pay and in an attempt to get money, they decide to rob armed robbers that rob a bank. The bank robbers are shown as complete immoral psychotic murderers that will kill people without a second thought and in true Zahler style, the executions are absolutely brutal.

Ultimately, I think the point the film is going for is that psychopathic behavior exists on either side of the law.

And politics aside, the tension in this film alone is a good enough reason to check it out. I think because Zahler is so liberal with his seemingly spontaneous, savage murder scenes it keeps the viewer in constant suspense of who is going to bite it next.

Good acting all around, this film essentially has the same cast from "Brawl in Cell Block 99" with the addition of Mel Gibson, Michael Jai White and Tori Kittles.

Apart from the length and the polarizing politics of the film, this is another great entry into the cinematic universe of S. Craig Zahler. I would recommend checking it out but I would proceed with caution as aspects of the film may be triggering.

7/10

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