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Con Games Reviews

2001
1 hr 30 mins
Drama
R

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A decorated Army veteran goes undercover as a prison inmate to investigate the death of a Senator's grandson, who was killed while behind bars. Once under lock and key, he finds himself at the mercy of an all-powerful guard whose deadly influence reaches far beyond the prison walls. His only chance for freedom now is to escape ... or die.

Reviewed By: Buzz McClain

The venerable B-movie "Men in Prison" genre proves it is virtually indestructible, no matter how questionable the talent, with this fascinating train wreck of a feature. Squinty-eyed, generically named newcomer Tommy Lee Thomas, who also produced the movie in a clear attempt to establish an acting career, somehow holds the thing together against all odds. Eric Roberts, in a singularly bad toupee and a bloated beer-belly prosthesis (the viewer hopes), devours the scenery as if it were steak. The script is unimaginably filled with hilarious lines, the camera seems not to know where it wants to be in most scenes, and the too-literal acting is right out of 1960s drive-in cinema. The movie is a bomb. But, there's an endearing earnestness that overcomes the shoddy amateurism. Only the most undemanding of action fans are going to appreciate this one -- everyone else will toss it in the waste can.