Dragged Across Concrete
1.5/4
Starring: Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn, Tory Kittles, Michael Jai White, Laurie Holden, Jennifer Carpenter, Thomas Kretschmann
Rated R for Strong Violence, Grisly Images, Language and Some Sexuality/Nudity
There is a difference between eloquence and trying too hard. There is a difference between gritty and cynical. There is a difference between understated and boring. There is a difference between movies that earn their right to exist and movies that pretend they know what they're doing. On principle, I don't mind movies that have wordy dialogue, dour moods or brutal violence. As long as it's worth listening or seeing, I'm okay with it. But when you're trying to be an auteur and clearly don't have talent, I get annoyed.
Brett Ridgeman (Gibson) has a problem: he's a cop living in a bad neighborhood with no money, a sick wife and a bullied kid. And after he and his partner Anthony Lurasetti (Vaughn) face some bad press, he's suspended for six weeks without pay. Ex-con Henry Johns (Kittles) is similarly strapped for cash. So much so that his mother and handicapped brother are threatened with eviction. Their attempts to earn extra cash will bring them into direct collision.
"Dragged Across Concrete" tries way too hard in every category. The script is loaded with lines that attempt to be deep, ironic and quotable, but end up sounding purple. Like how Lurasetti says "Anchovies" in a presumed attempt to avoid swearing. Other golden lines: "A couple more years and you'll be a human steamroller, covered with spikes and fueled with bile," "Ain't no point in arguing about a bunch of yesterdays." You get the idea. Perhaps writer/director S. Craig Zohler was trying to imitate Quentin Tarantino. But Tarantino has a gift for dialogue that Zohler does not. The characters in a QT may not talk like real people, but things they say sound natural, interesting and alive. Zohler's characters sound like your grandma talking like a frat boy.
One wonders how Zohler managed to attract such big name talent. Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn, Michael Jai White, Laurie Holden, Jennifer Carpenter, Thomas Krestchmann. Some of these aren't well known names, but they are established talents. Maybe he has incriminating information on them. That would explain Mel Gibson's appearance, since he so clearly does not want to be in this movie. Vince Vaughn is attempting to stretch his talents in a straight role, but his dramatic range could charitably be called limited. Laurie Holden and Thomas Krestschmann appear in thankless roles. Jennifer Carpenter and Don Johnson are relegated to pointless cameos. Newcomer Tory Kittles isn't any better, bringing so little to the role that he might as well not be in it.
At 2.5 hours, "Dragging Across Concrete" is about an hour longer than is justified. And that's being generous. The material is thin and badly told, and to be frank, not interesting to begin with. Even worse, Zohler stretches it out by having numerous pauses and an excess of verbal diarrhea. There are also plenty of scenes that serve almost no purpose. Take Jennifer Carpenter's role, for example. Her character is essentially a walk-on, but Zohler provides her with an extended backstory. It has nothing to do with the film, and once it's over, Carpenter doesn't appear in the film nor is her character ever mentioned again. Ironically, her scenes are some of the few that work.
But the film's greatest sin is that it's boring. The characters are flat. The plot is routine. The film has too many scenes that have no point. Half the movie is spent listening to characters talk just to stretch out the running time. Who cares about their problems or if any of them get solved? Or even if they make it to the end credits? I didn't.
Admittedly, the film does boast a few clever moments and I chuckled once or twice, but they're stranded in a bland, uninspired snoozefest. What a waste.
Starring: Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn, Tory Kittles, Michael Jai White, Laurie Holden, Jennifer Carpenter, Thomas Kretschmann
Rated R for Strong Violence, Grisly Images, Language and Some Sexuality/Nudity
There is a difference between eloquence and trying too hard. There is a difference between gritty and cynical. There is a difference between understated and boring. There is a difference between movies that earn their right to exist and movies that pretend they know what they're doing. On principle, I don't mind movies that have wordy dialogue, dour moods or brutal violence. As long as it's worth listening or seeing, I'm okay with it. But when you're trying to be an auteur and clearly don't have talent, I get annoyed.
Brett Ridgeman (Gibson) has a problem: he's a cop living in a bad neighborhood with no money, a sick wife and a bullied kid. And after he and his partner Anthony Lurasetti (Vaughn) face some bad press, he's suspended for six weeks without pay. Ex-con Henry Johns (Kittles) is similarly strapped for cash. So much so that his mother and handicapped brother are threatened with eviction. Their attempts to earn extra cash will bring them into direct collision.
"Dragged Across Concrete" tries way too hard in every category. The script is loaded with lines that attempt to be deep, ironic and quotable, but end up sounding purple. Like how Lurasetti says "Anchovies" in a presumed attempt to avoid swearing. Other golden lines: "A couple more years and you'll be a human steamroller, covered with spikes and fueled with bile," "Ain't no point in arguing about a bunch of yesterdays." You get the idea. Perhaps writer/director S. Craig Zohler was trying to imitate Quentin Tarantino. But Tarantino has a gift for dialogue that Zohler does not. The characters in a QT may not talk like real people, but things they say sound natural, interesting and alive. Zohler's characters sound like your grandma talking like a frat boy.
One wonders how Zohler managed to attract such big name talent. Mel Gibson, Vince Vaughn, Michael Jai White, Laurie Holden, Jennifer Carpenter, Thomas Krestchmann. Some of these aren't well known names, but they are established talents. Maybe he has incriminating information on them. That would explain Mel Gibson's appearance, since he so clearly does not want to be in this movie. Vince Vaughn is attempting to stretch his talents in a straight role, but his dramatic range could charitably be called limited. Laurie Holden and Thomas Krestschmann appear in thankless roles. Jennifer Carpenter and Don Johnson are relegated to pointless cameos. Newcomer Tory Kittles isn't any better, bringing so little to the role that he might as well not be in it.
At 2.5 hours, "Dragging Across Concrete" is about an hour longer than is justified. And that's being generous. The material is thin and badly told, and to be frank, not interesting to begin with. Even worse, Zohler stretches it out by having numerous pauses and an excess of verbal diarrhea. There are also plenty of scenes that serve almost no purpose. Take Jennifer Carpenter's role, for example. Her character is essentially a walk-on, but Zohler provides her with an extended backstory. It has nothing to do with the film, and once it's over, Carpenter doesn't appear in the film nor is her character ever mentioned again. Ironically, her scenes are some of the few that work.
But the film's greatest sin is that it's boring. The characters are flat. The plot is routine. The film has too many scenes that have no point. Half the movie is spent listening to characters talk just to stretch out the running time. Who cares about their problems or if any of them get solved? Or even if they make it to the end credits? I didn't.
Admittedly, the film does boast a few clever moments and I chuckled once or twice, but they're stranded in a bland, uninspired snoozefest. What a waste.
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