Cops Brett (Mel Gibson) and Anthony (Vince Vaughn) get suspended after the apprehension of a suspect got a little out of hand - and since it's suspension without pay, they are both in dire need of money, Brett to support his family, including his MS-suffering wife (Laurie Holden), Anthony to finally afford an engagement ring for his girlfriend (Jennifer Carpenter) - so Brett comes up with a plan to do a stake-out at the home of a known drug pusher to at an opportune moment raid the place and relief them of their money - after all, it's drug money, so they can't go to the police. There's a problem though, as Vogelman (Thomas Kretschmann), the guy under observation, doesn't plan another drug coup but a bank robbery - one that turns violent, even deadly for some of the bank personnel and customers, but Brett and Anthony manage to stay on Vogelman's trail - also because Vogelman's two hired drivers (Tory Kittles, Michael Jai White), mere petty criminals, were never aware how bloody the whole affair might get and now see in their pursuers salvation rather than threat - and thus make no attempt to shake them. Eventually, Brett and Anthony manage to corner Vogelman's car - but that's where the problems only begin as Vogelman's gang is ruthless, and their car is actually a fully armoured truck. And they don't want the two suspended cops as witnesses, so it soon becomes unclear who's the hunter, who's the hunted ...

Don Johnson plays Brett and Anthony's superior, cult favourite Udo Kier has an alas but small role as the guy who give Brett and Anthony a lead to Vogelman.

Dragged Across Concrete is a very solidly filmed thriller with lots of action that nevertheless treats its material with respect and intelligence rather found in a movie of this sort - and that's where the film overreaches a bit, unfortunately: It looks good, is well-played, rich on action ... and lasts 160 minutes as it tries to flesh out all its characters, affords elaborate backstories to even peripheral characters, makes a heck of an effort to put everything into a comprehensible social context - and as a consequence just takes a little too long to tell its story. That said, this is still a good movie, but sometimes less is just more.

review © by Mike Haberfelner

 

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