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Felon
Metascore
58 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
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  1. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    75
    Felon's dialogue is overheated and some of its plot twists are preposterous, yet it's still white-knuckle tense, and held together by dozens of small, well-observed moments.
  2. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Stephen Farber
    70
    The most startling performance comes from Val Kilmer as Wade's hardened cellmate, a man who combines bitterness with wisdom.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    70
    Mr. Dorff's hot-wired portrayal of a prisoner under physical and psychic siege gives Felon its emotional through line as Wade's attitude metamorphoses from stunned disbelief, to terror, to despair, to fury and finally to hope.
  4. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    70
    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.
  5. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    63
    Kilmer and Dorff, who was also an executive producer, immerse themselves in difficult roles.
  6. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ed Gonzalez
    60
    Harold Perrineau gives unintentionally comic expression in Felon to the delineation between his character's public and private scruples.
  7. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Lou Lumenick
    50
    A 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.
  8. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Owen Gleiberman
    50
    Val Kilmer, as a polite horn-rimmed sociopath with a heart of gold, keeps showing up to drop Nietzschean pensées.
  9. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Mark Olsen
    50
    Felon is not a total bust. What does work is because of the strength of the actors. Dorff brings a visceral sense of desperation to his performance, though he does tend to go too big too quickly. Kilmer gives the film its center as an alien, still presence amid the chaos around him.
  10. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    40
    There are times when a Kilmer performance is like watching a clock move: well-timed and oddly compelling, even though it's totally predictable. That's the case with Felon, which doesn't belong to Kilmer but which he steals anyhow.
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User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 14
  3. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. thelordoffilm
    8
    Felon surprise me a lot when I first saw it. The movie had a limited release and then it went direct to DVD. It plays a strong message about prison life and it's not a pretty picture. Stephen Dorff plays ordinary Wade Porter a working class man with a beautiful wife and son. He receives good news about future plans with his business. He has the perfect life until one night an intruder enters his home to rob. His first mistake was to chase after him outside of the house. He accidentally hits him in the back of the head with a baseball bat thinking he had a gun which he didn't. He gets charged with murder but the district attorney has compassion and lets him serve three years in jail but will be release on good behavior in fifteen months if he keeps that way. He goes to jail and that's when he enters a world that he really can't understand. He goes through a lot of crazy stuff especially a brutal and psychotic correctional officer. He then meets John Smith played by Val Kilmer who is a veteran in prison and at first a little bit distant to him. Throughout Wade's time there they form a somewhat friendship; and Smith starts teaching him ways to tolerate prison life. The key thing that makes this movie work is the performances which are very top notch. Val Kilmer we miss you on the big screen when are you coming back. Thunderheart, Top Gun, Tombstone, The Doors those were awesome movies where you great and hopefully Macgruber doesn't suck. Kilmer plays John Smith to the core and he's very imposing, Kilmer did his research. Dorff played a very sympathetic performance and convinced me all the way. I seriously thought he was a lost cause ever since from being the villain Decon Frost in Blade which he was pretty good. These two actors own the movie and they have great chemistry. The movie loses a potential fifth star because the prison scenes are very brutal and unforgiving and it's not an easy movie to watch. I understand prison life is not easy and I can't say I have experience it, I can only imagined it and hopefully never experience it. However, the movie would make audience feel a shock is coming on every reel when we're suppose to care more about the characters and plot not the next blow to the head. Although Felon surprise me a lot and it's worth to watch for the performances of Kilmer and Dorff.… Full Review »
  2. FredG
    8
    Very entertaining. Val Kilmer played his role to perfection.
  3. LouisP.
    9
    this is an excitent movie, its something that we can all relate too,not going to prison,but the fact of anger and pain, all caused by love, this movie really made me think,how a normal person can be at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and the whole perspective on things can change,family really is forever… Full Review »
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