Brawl in Cell Block 99
OctoArts Films | Release Date: October 6, 2017 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
79
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 21 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
2
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangOct 5, 2017
Vaughn’s performance is riveting in its containment, and he honors his character’s ethos by making sure that every word, glance, gesture and silence counts. Read full review
91
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloOct 4, 2017
Equally remarkable and counterintuitive is Vaughn’s performance. He pulls a Bruce Willis here, shaving his head and substituting intimidating stillness for his trademark motormouthed hyperactivity. The transformation suits him surprisingly well. Read full review
91
The PlaylistJessica Kiang
It’s Vaughn’s caged-beast charisma (that bounces off the screen long before he is actually caged) and way with a wink or a pithy putdown that keeps us riveted through the substantial sections of the film where heads remain, for the time being, unstomped. Read full review
90
The New York TimesJeannette CatsoulisOct 5, 2017
For one thing, the buildup is so grippingly patient that we’re more than halfway through before the titular battleground is reached. And for another, this painstakingly paced thriller displays an intensity of purpose that makes it impossible to dismiss as well-executed trash. Read full review
88
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperOct 13, 2017
In the middle of all the wince-inducing, limb-bending, bone-crunching, face-exploding bloodshed, Vaughn turns in a legitimately great performance that ranks among the finest work he’s ever done. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsOct 6, 2017
If you are willing to suspend your disbelief for 132 minutes, you may find yourself head-over-heels for this film's brand of gross, thoughtful pulp fiction. Read full review
80
EmpireJonathan PileOct 17, 2017
Brawl In Cell Block 99 takes its time with its set-up, but that only makes the action that follows all the more effective. And Vaughn as an action hero works surprisingly well. Read full review
80
Time OutJoshua RothkopfOct 6, 2017
Brawl then becomes a nightmare in scenes of skull-splattering violence that are truly sickening (and wonderful). Don’t look for a deeper meaning. Just soak up the grindhouse. Read full review
80
VarietyOwen Gleiberman
It’s the rare movie that truly evokes the grindhouse ’70s, because it means everything it’s doing. It’s exploitation made with vicious sincerity. Read full review
80
CineVueJohn Bleasdale
Brawl in Cell Block 99 is a midnight movie to relish. Read full review
75
ConsequenceRandall ColburnOct 5, 2017
It’s not easy, balancing careful character development and a vivid sense of place with the bloodlust of expectations, but Zahler’s done it here. Read full review
75
Rolling StoneDavid FearOct 5, 2017
If many male stars of a certain age are destined to become late-act action heroes, we hope this is Vaughn's "Taken," and his particular set of skills will continue to involve dishing out such graceless, effective hurt. Read full review
75
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiOct 4, 2017
Vaughn is so committed and so unrecognizable here, he actually convinces his rapt audience that a murderous rampage through the penitentiary system is a brilliant idea. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineGreg CwikOct 3, 2017
Brawl in Cell Block 99 rarely drags, even when delivering exposition, and the economy of the storytelling is as efficiently brutal as the eventual skull-crackings. Read full review
70
TheWrapRobert AbeleOct 5, 2017
If it’s been a while since you’ve felt the cold blast and hard crunch of midnight-movie meanness, Zahler’s shaping up to be your guy — the one selling illicit thrills out of the trunk of a well-restored, vinyl-topped LTD — and with “Brawl,” he sets himself further apart from his more schlock-minded contemporaries in cult cinem Read full review
70
Village VoiceChris PackhamOct 4, 2017
This film is unusually slow-paced for its genre, but Zahler’s screenplay is driven by a solid central character and dialogue that might have made Elmore Leonard sit up straight. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterDavid Rooney
While Brawl in Cell Block 99 remains gripping and unpredictable throughout, the two-and-a-quarter-hour running time does feel a tad bloated, and the movie might benefit from being trimmed by 20 minutes or so into a tauter edit. Read full review
67
IndieWireEric KohnSep 14, 2017
Brawl in Cell Block 99 unleashes a fascinating gamble, blending the grimy aesthetic of a one-note action movie with undercurrents of blue-collar frustration. It doesn’t quite succeed at fusing those two elements, but it’s further proof of a filmmaking sensibility willing to push beyond the presumed barriers of formula. Read full review
63
Washington PostMark JenkinsOct 12, 2017
In place of catharsis, the climax provides gross-out slapstick, but writer-director S. Craig Zahler takes his handiwork so seriously that viewers may do the same. Read full review
60
Screen DailyLee Marshall
Vaughn brings a tenderness to the role of a man forced into animal violence for the sake of love and the miracle of birth, and the rangy anarchy of Zahler’s deeply kooky film gets under the skin at times. But in the end, you wish some big bad studio boss had been there to cut this director’s cut. Read full review
60
The GuardianXan Brooks
Zahler’s film is entertaining, incorrigible and borderline incoherent – it is the violent drunk at the party, liable to lash out. Read full review
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