After the release of Bone Tomahawk in 2015, S. Craig Zahler was starting to receive a lot of attention. His cannibal western received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for various industry awards despite its limited release. Zahler followed that up with the neo-noir crime thriller Brawl in Cell Block 99 released in 2017. Starring Vince Vaughn as a man double-crossed and put in prison, the film received similarly positive reviews from critics. It completely changed the way people saw Vaughn as an actor and showed that he was capable of much more. Around the same time, Vaughn had a role in Mel Gibson’s 2016 WWII film, Hacksaw Ridge, which received high acclaim. While working on that film, Vaughn told Gibson about a new project Zahler wanted to do and Gibson signed on. That project went on to become Zahler’s 2019 crime thriller, Dragged Across Concrete.
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Officers Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) and Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn) have recently been suspended after a news leak. Their superior, Lt. Calvert (Don Johnson) suspends them for six months as the news labels them as racist and unfair. Having been on the force for over 20 years, Ridgeman feels that he’s entitled to more for his hard work. Through an old contact named Frederic (Udo Kier), he learns of a massive score and invites Lurasetti to tag along. While Bridgeman has a daughter being hassled and his wife has MS, Lurasetti has reservations given his situation. Meanwhile, recently released ex-con Henry Johns (Tory Kittles) is invited by his friend Biscuit (Michael Jai White) for a job. The two are being hired by Lorentz Vogelmann (Thomas Kretschmann) to be getaway drivers for a bank robbery coming up. Both groups eventually collide and all hell breaks loose in a fight for survival.
After seeing Bone Tomahawk and Brawl in Cell Block 99, I was excited to see what Zahler would do next. Having seen this, while this is easily his weakest film to date, this is still a fantastic crime thriller. First thing to mention is the cast, all of whom do a phenomenal job, even if some aren’t given much. Gibson and Vaughn are fantastic together as two morally-conflicted cops who have good intentions despite their actions. Tory Kittles similarly does a great job, and his scenes with Michael Jai White are engaging and even funny. Jennifer Carpenter, previously in Brawl, has a small but memorable role as an innocent bystander caught in the crossfire. While Johnson and Kier only have one scene, it’s still a pleasure to see them given their legendary status. There’s some pretty intense scenes and the storyline is suspenseful and engaging all throughout.
Unfortunately, what makes this film not work as well is the runtime, which is over two and a half hours long. Apparently, the studio wanted to cut the film down to 130 minutes, but Zahler insisted on his 158 minute cut. While I stand behind a director releasing their preferred version, I think some trimming would’ve greatly improved this film. There are several scenes that feel like padding and the pacing tends to drag at times, almost halting the film. Also, while scenes like Jennifer Carpenter’s offer a unique perspective on the situation, it feels somewhat pointless given what happens. Even with that said, this still has the trademark grit and grime that were part of Zahler’s other films. If you enjoyed his previous films, you would definitely enjoy this film, though be prepared for a long runtime. Overall, Dragged Across Concrete is a fantastic if somewhat drawn-out crime thriller.
