Dragged Across Concrete

As brutal and uncompromising as its title would suggest, the third feature from S. Craig Zahler (Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99) is another instant classic crime drama.

When disillusioned old-time cop Brett Ridgeman (Mel Gibson) and his cocky younger partner Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn) are caught on camera forcefully strong-arming a suspect, their renegade approach to law enforcement gets them both suspended. With their egos bruised, and their finances depleted, the pair impulsively resort to a criminal plan which sees them cross paths with Henry Johns, a recently released ex-con desperate to rescue his family from poverty, by any means available.

Punctuated by moments of distressingly savage violence (and a dose of wickedly black humour), Zahler’s latest masterwork is an impeccably styled, daringly unconventional genre exercise, likely to enthral and appal in equal measures. Brace yourselves, crime thrillers are rarely boiled quite so hard.