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Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
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Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.
All Critics (24) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (6) | DVD (3)
Brubaker is a grim, often powerful prison movie based on the true story of convict torture and mass murder in a Southern penitentiary.
Brubaker is a dramatic movie with a social conscience and a welcome change from the primarily fluffy-headed film fare of the summer of 1980.
... a vivid, entertaining and shamelessly manipulative "crusading" melodrama about the impact of a reform warden on a barbarous penal institution.
It's interesting to note that Brubaker, before it devotes itself entirely to the protagonist's exploits, boasts a first act revolving around the happenings within the central penitentiary...
The first half-hour is powerful stuff, but after Brubaker reveals his true identity, the movie begins to falter, with the one-dimensional nature of the characters (particularly the warden himself) eventually stripping the story of any dramatic charge.
I never felt that I was wasting my time watching 'Brubaker,' only that it could have been a more dramatic and taut prison movie-which is odd, because it's directed by Stuart Rosenberg ('Cool Hand Luke').
Inspired by fact, this politically conscious prison drama is well written (script was Oscar nominated), but only decently acted by Redford, who might not have been the right choice.
It was hard to sit through two hours of such brutality and misery and say you enjoyed it.
Redford is the main attraction, obviously, even though his princely good looks -- like the movie's 'idealistic crusader against the Establishment' earnestness -- are almost too much of a good thing.
intense and a bit cliched
Robert Redford, in a surprise acting tour de force, really stretches his style and mannerisms to become Henry Brubaker.
Robert Redford puts in a stellar performance as a zealous prison reformer in this meditation on the ardor of idealism.
Brubaker is a prison drama - a little like Shawshank Redemption, but in this one, it is Brubaker that is fighting corruption in prison. It is almost too idealistic, but it is always cool when corruption is stifled.
Super Reviewer
Classic Robert Redford from the early 80's. A gripping movie from the director of "Cool Hand Luke".
Based on the real life story of Tom Murton, this sure is a worthy tale to tell, however I found the whole film pretty boring and I have to say Robert Redford did absolutely nothing for me acting wise.
Good message. Sure, the end is somewhat sappy. Redford as Brubaker plays a good reformer. I've read another review that said this is very similar to Serpico, but in prison. I agree, both great movies about fighting corruption.
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