Felon (2008)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:20
Fresh:13
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: Felon offers a rather hackneyed depiction of prison life, but is held together by a pleasantly complex plot and solid performances from Kilmer and Dorff.
Rated: R [See Full Rating]
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:Jul 18, 2008 Limited
Starring: Val Kilmer, Stephen Dorff, Harold Perrineau, Samuel Shepard Rogers
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Reviews for Felon
| Tomatometer | Critic | Review | Category |
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 |
The plot expands and gets more complex as the story progresses, and the dramatic tension ratchets up Full Review |
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B |
It's still white-knuckle tense, and held together by dozens of small, well-observed moments. Full Review |
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3.5/4 |
...establishes itself as a gritty, thoroughly compelling prison drama that rarely relies on the various tropes of the genre. Full Review |
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Dorff, who was last spotted as a scary sexual sadist in Shadowboxer, gives a mesmerizing performance evolving from stunned civilian to brutalized inmate and dangerous prison thug, then transforming into a tested man who rediscovers his own humanity. Full Review |
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7/10 |
This tough, uncompromising, cautionary thriller should be a wake-up call about America's outrageously archaic laws insofar as defending the sanctity of home and family. Full Review |
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Stephen Dorff's powerhouse perf as an ordinary Joe trapped behind bars with warring ethnic psychopaths propels "Felon" well ahead of its expose/exploitation brethren while still avoiding the pious learning curves of Frank Darabont's prestige prison dramas Full Review |
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 2.5/5 |
Felon ventures outside the prison walls so often that the audience doesn’t get a prolonged sense of the claustrophobia of confinement; the rage being displayed actually dispels the sense of isolation and boredom. Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
Kilmer and Dorff, who was also an executive producer, immerse themselves in difficult roles and the film's overall air of social commitment will surprise viewers drawn in by its exploitation-movie promotion. Full Review |
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3/4 |
Tough, brutish prison drama with an easy windup, but good acting and an uncompromising take on the prison system. Full Review |
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2.5/5 |
Written and directed by Ric Roman Waugh, and filmed at the New Mexico State Penitentiary near Santa Fe, Felon is one of the most realistic prison films ever made.
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2/4 |
A good cast and disciplined direction add some distinction to Ric Roman Waugh's Felon, which is basically the old tale about an innocent man corrupted by a stay in prison. Full Review |
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2/5 |
A subplot involving corrupt guards makes the movie even duller than the score that sounds like a rusty squeezebox. Full Review |
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2.5/5 |
For a film that seems to pride itself on its depiction of prison-reality, it feels extremely movie-phony. Full Review |
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2/4 |
While the film is violent and decidedly tragic, the overall sensation of watching it is nothing you haven't experienced before with numerous films, from Death Warrant to Lock Up to Oz. Full Review |
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Directed with pounding energy by Ric Roman Waugh and acted to the hilt by a cast comprising several of yesterday’s stars proving their mettle, the movie delivers the thrills and emotion that prison movies require. Full Review |
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The stuff that happens in a tense, taut new movie called Felon is nothing less than electrifying. Full Review |
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Felon gives everyone their tidy and expected due but outlines a realistic enough cycle of how a man's life can easily spiral out of his control. Full Review |
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4/6 |
Does a better-than-average job of depicting the pressures on guards, trainees and families on the outside. Full Review |
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B |
Former stuntman Rick Waugh turns writer/director to make a compelling and gritty drama that is as much a commentary on America's failed justice/prison system as it is about the devastation suffered by an honest family man imprisoned for killing a burglar Full Review |
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2.5/4 |
Felon flounders in convincingly resolving its protagonist's plight. Full Review |
CommentLatest News for Felon
August 16, 2008:
Dorff, who was last spotted as a scary sexual sadist in Shadowboxer, gives a mesmerizing performance evolving from stunned civilian to brutalized inmate and dangerous prison thug, then transforming into a tested man who rediscovers his own humanity. 
More...
July 20, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
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July 17, 2008:
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July 13, 2008:
I am proud of this film and I hope you will all go to see it. I said yes to the project because..every week in the U.S. we put 1,000 new people behind bars, yet we have the highest crime rate in the world. We are breeding criminals.' - Peace, Val Kilmer
More...
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