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Civil Brand
Lions Gate Films

Civil Brand reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 29 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
2.3 out of 10
based on 13 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 3 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

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

What The Critics Said

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...

80
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
A compelling, highly charged film that brings a contemporary perspective to classic prison picture elements.
Read Full Review
60
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).
Read Full Review
50
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.
Read Full Review
40
LA Weekly Ernest Hardy
There are also strong flickers here of a film that might have been.
Read Full Review
40
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.
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38
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.
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38
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.
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30
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.
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30
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.
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25
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.
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25
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.
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20
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.
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20
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.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!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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