Stephen Dorff plays a man who is a planner. His fiance waited for him to get his business going, so that there could be stability in their life, something they never had.
Then an intruder changes all of that in a blink of an eye. Or a swing of a bat. Next thing you know, he's on his way to prison.
On the bus, he "befriends" a fellow inmate, Snowman, who gives him a basic overview of how it is in the house. He tells him about the politics, the race wars, and a few other basics.
He then finds that where he's at, the yard is basically like a gladiator ring. The guards let them fight, they bet, and are actually worse than the prisoners.
Along the way, he gets paired with John Smith, played by Val Kilmer. John's family was murdered, and John took his revenge, to the point that he is a prison celebrity. He has ties with everyone, and is basically untouchable.
Stephen Dorff is great as Wade Porter. You really feel what he's going thru, as a character. I like him as an actor, because he does a good job of letting his face tell part of the story.
Val Kilmer is lights out good. He plays a character, who is waiting for death. His family is dead, and he yearns to join them. The didn't give him the death penalty, so now he sits, and waits.
What he does best, is scare you. Here is this quiet, very emotionless man, yet you get the feeling that he could wipe out your own family, and sit down for lunch afterward.
Harlold Perrineau plays the part as the bad guard well. You get the feeling that he has a Napolean complex. He's not that big, so he goes around bullying those who can't fight back. You just know he feels like the king of the prison.
The script was good. It could have easily turned into a prison/gladiator movie, but they didn't. There was a sbutle prison reform message in it, but it wasn't beaten to death. The starkness of the prison scenes really gave you a feeling of why some of these guys go nuts.
I think the movie "Animal Factory" gives a better depiction of why prison turns regular guys into animals. but this one gives good effort.
Some of the things they did prisonwise didn't make sense. I've watched alot of prison documentaries, and movies, and it seems odd that they kept him in isolation basically. I think that alot of that had to do with a low budget.
This movie took some of the atrocities of Cocoran State Prison, and had their way with them. The inmate fight scenes used real ex inmates for some.
I liked it. I like prison movies. I liked the action. I liked it all, and Val Kilmer was banannas!
I give it 8.5 out of 10 shanks.
