Category: Crime drama/thriller
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They say there is no such thing as bad publicity, but I'm sure Hollywood big names like Harvey Weinstein and Mel Gibson would disagree. And so we come to one of the biggest conundrums I felt when I hit play on this movie: despite all the horrible things Mel Gibson has been recorded as saying and has been sued for as well as any number of other things, can we still appreciate his work as an actor?
Well, you better, because you're going to miss out on a LOT if you let your personal feelings about Mel Gibson get in the way of what is an outstanding performance in the 2018 crime drama, Dragged Across Concrete.
This movie is actually three stories that eventually weave in to one:
Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn play Detectives Ridgeman and Lurasetti who are suspended from police duty after a video is released showing the two detectives getting quite rough with a suspect during a drug bust - and that's not to mention the suspect they get rough with that ISN'T recorded.
Ridgeman and his superior, Calvert (played by Don Johnson) go a long way back, and it's implied that Calvert got the desk job that Ridgeman wanted. Ridgeman wants Lurasetti off the hook while he alone takes the fall, but Calvert has to appease the media and his higher-ups and suspend both of them.
Being suspended without pay means that the financial situations of both men are up in the air - for Lurasetti, it delays his plans to propose to his long-time girlfriend. For Ridgeman, however, this means that he can't yet afford to move to a safer neighbourhood as his wife has a long-term illness preventing her from working, and his daughter complains about being frequently accosted by thugs on her way home from the train station. And to this end, Ridgeman decides to rob a professional thief, having found out about this particular target through his long career in being a somewhat underhanded cop.
The professional robber he wants to hit? Lorentz Vogelmann (Thomas Kretschmann), a pro who robs and kills without any compunction. Vogelmann commits a string of smaller robberies in order to pay for a heavy-duty customised bulletproof van made to look like a cleaning company work vehicle. The reason for needing such a heavy-duty vehicle? He's going to hit a high-end bank in the financial district and relieve them of their gold bullion, so with his vehicle and fake ID acquired, he gets a crew. And who is part of the crew?
Henry Johns (Tony Kittles), a recently released convict looking to make a better life for himself as well as his prostitute mother and disabled younger brother, Ethan. However, since most employers don't fancy ex-convicts and that prisons don't really teach how you how to be a C-suite executive, Johns joins his childhood friend, Biscuits (Michael Jai White) on what is sold as a lucractive one-time job as a getaway driver for a robbery.
The three stories all come together when Ridgeman and Lurasetti tail Vogelmann, Johns, Biscuits and the rest of the crew to a bank. Vogelmann brutally ensures that the bank employees co-operate, with the two cops watching from afar and weighing up their options in light of their current situation. The cops decide to sit back and pounce on the stolen gold bullion after the van has made its getaway. Johns and Biscuits realise one, that they made a mistake by agreeing to work for such a ruthless person, two, that they're being followed, but also three, that they're being watched meticulously by Vogelmann who has also taken a hostage, meaning they won't be able to subtly signal for help without raising suspicions.
The van finally comes to a hideout far away from town where the distrust really ratchets up. Biscuits and Johns try make a run for it with Biscuits getting shot, but not before he swallows the key to the garage where the crew were planning to store the van. Johns makes his escape into the darkness. Cue the grossness as the key is forcefully removed from Biscuits' digestive tract. But what's that sudden jolt? It's the two detectives who have rammed the van with their own vehicle, thereby disorienting everybody inside as the van is tipped over.
The hostage from the van comes over, faking surrender and shoots Lurasetti right before she herself is shot by Ridgeman. Ridgeman then goes over to the van, drops a canister of tear gas inside and shoots one of Vogelmann's henchmen as he gets out. Right before Ridgeman kills Vogelmann and tries to burn the van, Johns (emerging from his hiding spot) fires at Ridgeman and warns him that he wants what's inside the van. With everyone else dead, Johns blackmails Ridgeman by showing him that he has a recording of Ridgeman shooting the hostage on his phone. The two men clean up the scene, bury the dead and agree to split the gold, but Ridgeman plays his hand too far and tries to threaten Johns into deleting the video. In self-defence, Johns shoots Ridgeman, but in his dying moments, Johns promises Ridgeman that his family will be looked after.
The two final scenes of the movie are Johns, his mum and his brother living in a luxurious seaside mansion - obviously the result of Johns' ill-gotten gains (but no-one's asking questions), and then Ridgeman's wife and daughter are sitting at home when a package arrives. Ridgeman's wife opens it up to find a gold bar inside.
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I needed a stiff drink after watching this. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but I think it's an excellent movie.
Mel Gibson is a great actor, but that's something we already knew. However, who knew Vince Vaughn had more in him than comic acting? Hats off to him for that. And the way these two really carry the movie with an authenticity that doesn't pull any punches - these two guys are trying to get themselves out of a bad situation and are using the skills they have.
In fact, one of the things I loved about this movie was how politically incorrect it was. People spoke their minds. People acted like actual humans with fears and worries and a sense of pragmatism about their decisions. You see the characters in their moral dilemmas make decisions that they don't want to make, but have to. While I'm trying not to come across as a culture warrior, it seriously is refreshing to see humans act like humans, warts and all. Maybe the most unrealistic thing was Vogelmann's professional thief character.
However, the biggest criticism I have about this movie is that it is waaaaaay too long, to the point that it felt like a Director's Cut (and it's possible the stream I got on my service was). Lingering shots, extended dialogue, stuff like that which brings the run time close to 2 hours 15 minutes. I would actually have rated this movie as Best In Class had it been shorter.
For example, there is a scene where a woman is struggling to be apart from her newborn infant to the point that she can't bring herself to go back to work post-partum. Anyway, she eventually gets to work, which just happens to be the bank that is the target of Vogelmann's robbery, on the day he executes his robbery - and ends up dead. It seems a bit of a waste to build up this empathy for a woman struggling emotionally, only for her to play no real part in the overall story.
Some reviews of this movie I read also complained about the gratuitous violence - and look, this movie is hard-hitting, I won't deny that. But given that franchises like Saw and Hostel exist, and the violence in those movies features very little in the way of moral dilemmas, I'm not sure these criticisms of this movie hold water when you can see this movie is a serious, dramatic effort.
Excellent, but falls just short of Best In Class.
STAR RATING: 4.5/5
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