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Civil Brand
Lions Gate Films


2.3

based on 13 reviews
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How did we calculate this?

based on 3 votes
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MPAA RATING: R for violence including a rape, and for pervasive strong language

Starring LisaRaye, N'Bushe Wright, Mos Def, Da Brat, Monica Calhoun, Clifton Powell, Tichina Arnold, Lark Voorhies, and MC Lyte

Forced to work under slave-like conditions in a "prison for profit" program, the inmates of a mostly African-American female prison try to take over the institution.

GENRE(S):	Drama
WRITTEN BY:	Preston A. Whitmore II (also teleplay) Joyce Renee Lewis (teleplay)
DIRECTED BY:	Neema Barnette
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: January 27, 2004 Video: January 27, 2004 Theatrical: August 29, 2003
RUNNING TIME:	95 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

Winner, Best Film and Best Performance by an Actor (Powell), 2002 American Black Film Festival

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas

A compelling, highly charged film that brings a contemporary perspective to classic prison picture elements.

Variety Walter Dawkins

Film explores the abuses rampant in woman's prisons and the powerlessness of the inmates, while telling the uplifting story of one inmate, Frances (LisaRae).

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

Although the film loses its way in the late going with a preponderance of melodramatic elements that dilute the more compelling social message, for much of its running time it packs a visceral punch, thanks in large part to a strong cast headed by LisaRaye, N'Bushe Wright and Mos Def.

LA Weekly Ernest Hardy

There are also strong flickers here of a film that might have been.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

There's way too much of the usual bonding, beatings, petty humiliation by guards, cat fights in the yard and trips to the hole.

New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman

Exploitation shamelessly posing as empowerment, Neema Barnette's self-congratulatory drama about women in prison promises to reveal shocking truths.

Premiere Peter Debruge

There's no question that Civil Brand has an ambitious premise, but it feels boxed in by the standard prison-movie formula.

The New York Times Dana Stevens

Before Civil Brand erupts into over-the-top melodrama (which is pretty early), it shows some interest in its characters, and in its less screechy moments the dialogue has the rough, bantering ring of actual speech.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Civil Brand's aesthetic is pure mid-'70s blaxploitation, and not in an ironic or reverent sense. Even the heavy-handed political rhetoric is in keeping with the neo-blaxploitation vibe, since even bad blaxploitation movies often had revolutionary undercurrents.

New York Post V.A. Musetto

The cast includes rappers Da Brat, Mos Def and MC Lyte. Their fans might get some pleasure from Civil Brand. Everybody else best stay away.

Chicago Tribune Robert K. Elder

Plagued by continuity problems, ham-fisted storytelling and a problematic voiceover by Da Brat, Civil Brand feels less like a prison movie than a prison sentence.

Village Voice Laura Sinagra

Without a scorcher like Pam Grier, the sub-NYPD Blue dialogue and acting dilute what could have been a shrieking wake-up call about for-profit prisons.

Chicago Reader J.R. Jones

Corrupt warden, sadistic guards, new inmate debauched by her surroundings, prison-break hostage drama--could have come straight from an old George Raft vehicle.

The average user rating for this movie is 2.3 (out of 10) based on 3 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Bruce R. gave it a 5:
Serious in approach but ultimately not fully satisfying. Discontinuity may have been caused by budget problems.

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Civil Brand Lions Gate Films

Civil Brand
Lions Gate Films