S. Craig Zahler's Dragged Across Concrete

[Alison Jane Girl Boss Jane Find all posts View Profile Close Alison Jane]

Are the two mutually exclusive? Some of the best people I know are also the creepiest people I know!

Fair enough.

[The Silly Swede Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close The Silly Swede]

So, finally saw this as it was released on VOD here. Kind of liked it, but it took a long while to get into thanks to the very odd dialogue and acting. Also, it would have been better if it had been trimmed. Way to much unnecessary filler here, and sideplots galore. But still, more positive then negative, so I liked it. Very doubtful I will ever buy this on disc though, as it has no rewatch value what so ever.

[Consigliere Member Find all posts View Profile Close Consigliere]

I've just seen it and it was quite a ride. Sure it could've been trimmed here and there but i was simply enjoying everything unfolding on-screen. Besides, we dont get many 3 hour violent cops-and-robbers films nowadays so...

Now it's 2/2 for this Zahler dude to me, gotta get and watch Bone Tomahawk next.

[Scott Intellectual Carrot Find all posts View Profile Close Scott]

That whole scene with the woman and her kid and going back to work was great! Completely pointless and only there for us to go "Jesus Christ!" and well I can't recall another recent film that was so gloriously exploitive.

And I not only didn't see the end coming I also loved how it ended and the film's very last line.

Like Swedish Joe, I will probably never watch it again but I absolutely am looking forward to more Craig Zaler films.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

I could definitely see myself watching it again.

[anthony1138 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close anthony1138]

I'll definitely pick this up on disc at some point. Worthy of a rewatch for sure.

[Matt H. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt H.]

I watched this for the second time last night and it holds up beautifully. In fact, I think I enjoyed it more this time around. Such a fucking cool movie.

[killer must kill again Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close killer must kill again]

watched it and really liked it. imho zahler is getting better with every movie ... I didn't really care for bone tomahawk, brawl in cell block 99 was okay and this one was really good! but seriously ... WTH happened to the imdb review section for this movie??? Is it because of gibson or SPOILER!!! because the black guy wins in the end?! seriously fucked up shit storm going on over there.

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

Somethings up over there. I had to scroll past 30 odd reviews till I found one that wasn'tscoring it 1 out of 10. That one was a 2.

[Wernski Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Wernski]

Yeah, there was a big scandal with the production company Cinestate and specifically producer Donaghey shortly after this came out. Then combine that with its in-film right-wing themes plus Mel Gibson, and it's a real lightning rod for controversy.

[BW Haggar Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close BW Haggar]

It saddens me to skim through the stuff in those links (haven't even dared visit the IMDB page), but I hope that all this kerfuffle won't overshadow the legacy of an excellent film by a director whose work thus far has been consistently great.

To make matters worse, it also occurs to me that the scene in the first act of 'Dragged..' - in which Gibson and Vaughn stomp on a hispanic suspect's neck for an excessive amount of time and it's basically played for laughs - will reeeeeally not go over well with a lot of people, post-George Floyd - so much so that I'm surprised the film hasn't been pulled off streaming services or some similar panicked over-reaction.

The irony of it all is that, despite the film's casting and whatever its producers may or may not have believed or got up to, I genuinely don't believe Zahler is pushing any kind of right wing agenda in this or his other films.

At no point does he encourage us to cheer on Gibson & Vaughn's vigilante antics in 'Death Wish'/'Dirty Harry' style - on the contrary, he portrays their behaviour as ultimately being pretty stupid and self-sabotaging, but at the same time, he asks us to consider them as three-dimensional characters who do things for reasons, rather than as ciphers who we're immediately supposed to LOVE or HATE in knee-jerk fashion based on their actions or social demographics -- which is exactly what serious writers and filmmakers are SUPPOSED to do, but somehow people seem to have difficulty getting their heads around that concept these days.

And.... I could easily harp on on this point for hours to be honest, so will cease before I get carried away.

[Matt H. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt H.]

Did that butthole who wrote the Daily Beast article actually watch DRAGGED?:

"And with films like Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cellblock 99 and Dragged Across Concrete, the latter a morality play urging sympathy for a racist cop, played by Mel Gibson, who beats down innocent black folks, as well as the launch of the right-wing website Rebeller, (Cinestate's) raison d'etre was clear."

Fucking asshole didn't even see the movie.

[killer must kill again Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close killer must kill again]

Yeah, there was a big scandal with the production company Cinestate and specifically producer Donaghey shortly after this came out. Then combine that with its in-film right-wing themes plus Mel Gibson, and it's a real lightning rod for controversy.

thanks! had to be either SJW's or racists that created this mess. I recall tarantino being attacked on the imdb review section of hateful eight (or was it once upon a time... ?) for openly protesting against police brutality. US of A sure is a fucked up country (right now)!

[Randy G Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Randy G]

Brawl... is now up on Tubi in Canada and I haven't seen it so I'm catching it tonight. I really like Bone Tomahawk and especially Dragged...

I like the extended, relaxed pace of Dragged... and thought the film ended in an unexpected way to me that turns a lot of the assumptions about Zahler's intentions as a filmmaker on their head.

Only thing I didn't care for was the Jennifer Carpenter sequence, I can see what he was going for but it was too clumsily done imo.

[Matt H. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt H.]

I think BRAWL is my #1 favourite movie at the moment.