Brawl In Cell Block 99: 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Review
The Movie:
A former boxer named Bradley (Vince Vaughn) loses his job as an auto mechanic, and his troubled marriage is about to expire. At this crossroads in his life, he feels that he has no better option than to work for an old buddy as a drug courier. This vocation improves his situation until the terrible day that he finds himself in a gunfight between a group of police officers and his own ruthless allies. When the smoke clears, Bradley is badly hurt and thrown in prison, where his enemies force him to commit acts of violence that turn the place into a savage battleground.
This film was an absolute surprise. The story is pretty direct and not complex at all but I think that’s what was engaging about it. It was simplistic but in the best possible way. What we got was a fantastic revenge tale that felt very much like a throwback to the exploitation films of the 70’s. The best thing however came from Vaughn. I knew that he could go intense for a role (True Detective) but I didn’t see this coming at all. His character was calm and collected throughout the film (sometimes that can be the scariest thing) but extremely raw and violent. It was truly unlike anything that I’ve seen from him before and it was really cool. He really showed a whole other level here and it was fun and satisfying to watch it all play out. My only gripe about it would be the fight scenes. They were awesomely choreographed but I felt like they were a bit slow and lacked power. That didn’t take anything away from the story and they all still felt very meaningful. I enjoyed this movie quite a bit and I totally recommend checking this one out as soon as you can. 9/10
4K Presentation:
There really wasn’t anything too spectacular here as far as picture quality goes. It looks very much the same as the standard Blu-ray release which is fine but with the 4K format you do expect there to be noticeable differences. There are clarity improvements here and there. You can see more details in the background of various scenes and on people’s faces so that was a great thing.
Special Features:
Journey to the Brawl – A great piece that includes interviews with the cast and crew and it goes in depth about the story, characters, setting and more.
Beyond Fest Q&A – A full Q&A session with the cast and crew from a film festival.
