Overview
The story of two men on different sides of a prison riot -- the inmate leading the rebellion and the young guard trapped in the revolt, who poses as a prisoner in a desperate attempt to survive the ordeal.
A solid Spanish prison drama. The storyline may not be exceptionally original, but it delivers the premise needed for the actors to do their work: the acting is good and keeps you engaged all the way through.
There are some caricature prisoners (many of the extras were actual convicts rather than actors) but that doesn’t spoil the story or the overall experience.
With a number of fairly savage scenes, the style is clearly different from typical Hollywood fare, and the blurred lines between good or bad, and hero or victim make for an interesting watch.
And a side benefit: I don’t speak Spanish, but this movie let me brush up my Spanish swearing skills.
It got 8 Goyas (the ‘Spanish Oscars’) in 2009 and a Hollywood remake is supposedly in the works (Cell 211), but no actor details or anticipated release date have been announced yet.
- Does it have a hook? Yes.
- Is it entertaining? Yes.
- Should you watch it? Yes.