I was waiting for this movie to come out. It dropped today on VOD. I read it was gonna be released in Dec on VOD but I must have misinformed.

Anyway... this is pure 70s exploitation.

This movie features a simple, pretty straight-forward story that contains a lot of gory violence and hand to hand fight scenes.

When I say gory violence, we're talking ridiculous Riki-Oh type of stuff. So, be warned.

It doesn't hide or shy away from what it is. It ramps up in the third part.

So if you're in the mood for some 70s type, totally unrealistic (in a good way), ridiculous movie (complete with cool music) where one guy kicks ass in a very brutal way, this might be the movie for you. Otherwise, stay away. There's no deep story here or phenomenal acting. Just a lot of punches and brutal fake-looking practical effects.

PS: I enjoyed it. It was what that movie Grindhouse should have been.

Vince Vaughn is fantastic in this.

~Zack~

Excellent film. All the skull-crushing you could possibly want, with a great look and great pacing. If you like this stuff, seek this one out.

Quoted from Heretic Excellent film. All the skull-crushing you could possibly want, with a great look and great pacing. If you like this stuff, seek this one out.

Pacing was interesting. It's quite a linear film but the first part is something out of a crime drama. You think it's gonna be one thing, then once Udo enters, it becomes something else. The tone shifts and the pace speeds up considerably.

I always like it when there are major tonal shifts in films. Because so little films do it.

^ I thought The Trust, with Nicolas Cage and Elijah Wood, also did a good job with a big shift in tone.

Saw this last night on Amazon TV, which I love BTW.

Interesting and strange little movie, much like S. Craig Zahler's other interesting, strange little movie, Bone Tomahawk.

I guess I enjoyed this, as I watched the entire thing and didn't fall asleep, but as I was watching, and even after, I wasn't sure exactly what i just watched, as it's so obviously redonkulously unrealistic and over the top...but then again, I guess that's what makes this what it is, and why so many apparently love it.

Hats off to Vince Vaughn, who played his role with gusto and real menace.  On IMDB, it says he gained 15 pounds of muscle for the role, and at 46 or 47, he looks pretty fit, but I would imagine if he came in in any semblance of being in great shape, he could have/would have looked much more buff than he actually did.  His fighting skills did look pretty impressive, though, and for that I throw out some kudos.

As for Jennifer Carpenter...God damn did she look absolutely terrible!  I've never thought she was all that hot, but she looks just downright awful here.

A definite grindhouse throwback to the 70's that works on the levels it tries to, but for me, just way too unbelievable to take even remotely serious.

Grade - B-

Quoted from Dreamscale Hats off to Vince Vaughn, who played his role with gusto and real menace.  On IMDB, it says he gained 15 pounds of muscle for the role, and at 46 or 47, he looks pretty fit, but I would imagine if he came in in any semblance of being in great shape, he could have/would have looked much more buff than he actually did.  His fighting skills did look pretty impressive, though, and for that I throw out some kudos. As for Jennifer Carpenter...God damn did she look absolutely terrible!  I've never thought she was all that hot, but she looks just downright awful here.

So Jennifer looked terrible and Vince looked buff... and you were impressed with his stage fighting skills.

Sounds to me like somebody's testosterone levels have dropped dangerously low. Have you noticed your moobs getting any bigger?

Never heard of this one. Almost disappointed in myself. Hate Vince Vaughn, but Bone Tomahawk was a proper flick and the trailer was impressive. Particularly badass/hilarious to see "From the writer and director of Bone Tomahawk" over the Motown soundtrack. Skull-crushing/Riki-Oh-style gore, you say? Will check it out ASAP.

Quoted from DustinBowcot So Jennifer looked terrible and Vince looked buff... and you were impressed with his stage fighting skills. Sounds to me like somebody's testosterone levels have dropped dangerously low. Have you noticed your moobs getting any bigger?

Jennifer looked absolutely God Awful.

Vince did not look all that buff actually, as I said, but not bad for a 46/47 year old guy that has had weight issues in the past.  And, as I said, if he had come in in reasonably good shape and then started ripping for 4 or 5 months and added 15 pounds of muscle, he would have looked a Hell of alot better.

But then, again, Dustin, you wouldn't have a clue what working out is like, as you're such a puny little runt of a man.

This was a trip. Super disjointed and, by the end, completely ridiculous, but the twists and turns made it all the more entertaining, especially when they are noticeably off. Things kick off with a nice stark tone and very few bells and whistles by way of showy acting, flashy filmmaking, invasive score, or any of that shit (in fact, the film's a really good case study in how underrated silence is in cinema). There's a lot to be said about the violence, pacing, and overall narrative sea change in the second half, but if you really think about it, the tone remains relatively consistent throughout, which has the fun effect of making the ridiculous plot developments seem even more ridiculous. The film basically sets you up to think it's gonna be something a lot more classy and reserved then totally pulls the rug out from under you.

The only thing that threw me off in a "bad" way was the dialogue. Very hit and miss, but the one consistent is that it tries soooooooooooooooooooo hard to be cool. Like, the script is straight out of film school. At one point, Vaughn even has a one-liner in which he refers to water as H2O (no one does that, GTFO). By the end, the corny lines and Vaughn's deadpan delivery of them feel right at home with the head-smashing/face-peeling, but it's a little weird/distracting in the first hour when the film's trying to be a little more realistic in comparison.

Favorite part of the film was Don Johnson. His performance was almost too good. I would've liked to have seen in a, shall we say, more consistent version of this film.

Looking forward to what Zahler does next. Think we got a new badass in town on the genre/exploitation front. Due time.

Loved it!

Watched this one last night, and I loved it, too.
I said, "Ew", quite a few times, but that was good. I thought they did pretty good with the special effects (broken leg, smashed face, and bullet holes).
I would watch it again.

Watched this a while back and found it really entertaining. Very different from what I was expecting from a Vince Vaughn but I loved Bone Tomahawk.

I had no problem with this movie. :)