Joe Carnahan’s claustrophobic thriller is packed with the satisfying basics: neat setups and payoffs and gratuitous violence
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Like Pulp Fiction’s throwback hitmen, Joe Carnahan – one of the main names in the post-Tarantino wave of brash, trash-talking crime pictures – is still out there plying his trade. And given the current yen for all things 90s and 00s, this claustrophobic but concussive thriller, packed with smart-aleck dialogue, might just put him back on the cinematic map. (2011’s wolf-hunt outing The Grey was his last major hit.)
Nevada
police rookie Valerie (Alexis Louder) is comparing firearms with her station chef when they’re called to a casino. Caught in a fracas outside, she’s socked on the chin by Teddy Muretto (Frank Grillo), who is weirdly OK with being Tasered and dragged off to county lock-up. But he’s not the only local lowlife keen to be incarcerated. A few hours later, some patrolmen bring in a sozzled hobo (Gerard Butler) who nearly ran them over, and lock him up in the cage opposite Muretto’s.