The plot expands and gets more complex as the story progresses, and the dramatic tension ratchets up
Comment
11/14/08
Felon (2008)
65
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:20
Fresh:13
Rotten:7
Average Rating:6.5/10
Consensus: Felon offers a rather hackneyed depiction of prison life, but is held together by a pleasantly complex plot and solid performances from Kilmer and Dorff.
Starring: Val Kilmer, Stephen Dorff, Harold Perrineau, Samuel Shepard Rogers
Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Reviews for Felon
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Top CriticIt's still white-knuckle tense, and held together by dozens of small, well-observed moments.
10/18/08
...establishes itself as a gritty, thoroughly compelling prison drama that rarely relies on the various tropes of the genre.
10/03/08
Dorff, who was last spotted as a scary sexual sadist in Shadowboxer, gives a mesmerizing performance evolving from stunned civilian to brutalized inmate and dangerous prison thug, then transforming into a tested man who rediscovers his own humanity.
08/01/08
This tough, uncompromising, cautionary thriller should be a wake-up call about America's outrageously archaic laws insofar as defending the sanctity of home and family.
07/26/08
Stephen Dorff's powerhouse perf as an ordinary Joe trapped behind bars with warring ethnic psychopaths propels "Felon" well ahead of its expose/exploitation brethren while still avoiding the pious learning curves of Frank Darabont's prestige prison dramas
07/21/08
Top CriticFelon ventures outside the prison walls so often that the audience doesn’t get a prolonged sense of the claustrophobia of confinement; the rage being displayed actually dispels the sense of isolation and boredom.
07/18/08
Kilmer and Dorff, who was also an executive producer, immerse themselves in difficult roles and the film's overall air of social commitment will surprise viewers drawn in by its exploitation-movie promotion.
07/18/08
Tough, brutish prison drama with an easy windup, but good acting and an uncompromising take on the prison system.
07/18/08
Written and directed by Ric Roman Waugh, and filmed at the New Mexico State Penitentiary near Santa Fe, Felon is one of the most realistic prison films ever made.
07/18/08
Top CriticA good cast and disciplined direction add some distinction to Ric Roman Waugh's Felon, which is basically the old tale about an innocent man corrupted by a stay in prison.
07/18/08
A subplot involving corrupt guards makes the movie even duller than the score that sounds like a rusty squeezebox.
07/18/08
For a film that seems to pride itself on its depiction of prison-reality, it feels extremely movie-phony.
07/18/08
Top CriticWhile the film is violent and decidedly tragic, the overall sensation of watching it is nothing you haven't experienced before with numerous films, from Death Warrant to Lock Up to Oz.
07/17/08
Directed with pounding energy by Ric Roman Waugh and acted to the hilt by a cast comprising several of yesterday’s stars proving their mettle, the movie delivers the thrills and emotion that prison movies require.
07/17/08
The stuff that happens in a tense, taut new movie called Felon is nothing less than electrifying.
07/16/08
Felon gives everyone their tidy and expected due but outlines a realistic enough cycle of how a man's life can easily spiral out of his control.
07/16/08
Does a better-than-average job of depicting the pressures on guards, trainees and families on the outside.
07/16/08
Former stuntman Rick Waugh turns writer/director to make a compelling and gritty drama that is as much a commentary on America's failed justice/prison system as it is about the devastation suffered by an honest family man imprisoned for killing a burglar
07/15/08
Felon flounders in convincingly resolving its protagonist's plight.
07/14/08
1 - 20 (sorted by date; Australian critics are listed first)
Latest News for Felon
August 16, 2008:
Dorff, who was last spotted as a scary sexual sadist in Shadowboxer, gives a mesmerizing performance evolving from stunned civilian to brutalized inmate and dangerous prison thug, then transforming into a tested man who rediscovers his own humanity. 
More...
July 20, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
July 17, 2008:
Critics Consensus: The Dark Knight Is One Of The Year's Best-Reviewed
This week, we've got the Caped Crusader (The Dark Knight, starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger), ABBA aficionados (Mamma Mia!, starring Meryl Streep and Amanda Seyfried),... More...
July 13, 2008:
I am proud of this film and I hope you will all go to see it. I said yes to the project because..every week in the U.S. we put 1,000 new people behind bars, yet we have the highest crime rate in the world. We are breeding criminals.' - Peace, Val Kilmer
More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
Fresh Links
Featured
Dressing Wonderland
Tim Burton's costume designer talks to Movieline about her long collaboration with the filmmaker and Johnny Depp.
Wes Anderson on Fox
The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox
Win Glee DVDs
We've got 20 copies of the hit TV series' Pilot Episode to giveaway.
Why Don't Australians Make Sci-fi?
The New Matilda's Lynden Barber looks at the recent success of low-budget sci-fi -- and asks the question.
Follow Rotten Tomatoes on Twitter
Get all the latest movie updates, reviews, interviews and features here.
Competitions
Win Star Wars prizes
Enough Prequel, Original Trilogy and Family Guy DVDs to fill a space cruiser
Win the entire 007 collection
Everything from Dr. No to Quantum of Solace could be yours.
Win Fight Club Special Editions and more
We're giving away the 10th Anniversary Blu-ray, plus Braveheart and the Rocky collection
IGN RSS Feeds