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Felon
User Score
8.7 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 31
  3. Negative: 0 out of 31

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  1. MikeV.
    Oct 4, 2008
    10
    This movie portrays the brutal realities of prison life, alongside the truth that not ALL cons are animals in an amazingly compacted time frame of movie length. Maybe the critics who gave it less than stellar reviews should be forced to spend 90 days in the nearest max prison to see the beauty of it!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. DanC.
    Jul 18, 2008
    10
    A totally powerful film! I can't stop thinking about this movie.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. JayH.
    Aug 6, 2008
    5
    Not bad, but I knew in the first scene when I felt he should have been arrested, that I was not on the same wavelength with the film's crew. From there, it is just another prison melodrama, but it is well done. The acting was good.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  4. George
    Aug 9, 2008
    4
    Cliched and predictable, if well-acted.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  5. KG
    Oct 11, 2008
    9
    Very underrated movie. Val Kilmer's performance was astounding. Great plot which wraps up in the end perfectly.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  6. BrookP.
    Nov 19, 2008
    10
    As usual the critics have missed the opportunity to do their job and report favourably on what is an amazing movie and one of the best I have seen in a long time. Felon is fantastic from beginning to end and does more than justice to the doco film style they use. You are transported to a nightmare that feels so real and emotive you may as well be in a prison for 2 hours. Great characters, great story, great directing. I would highly recomend this movie to anyone who loves quality film making. Brilliant!… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  7. JasonfromBrighton
    Jul 27, 2008
    9
    WOW the movie was Brilliant!! Dorff, Kilmer and Perrineau great performances. Tense and moving.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  8. KaitlynH.
    Aug 12, 2008
    10
    I *loved* this movie sooooo much! i thought it was very well directed with amazing actors with such a gripping plot line, this movie made me happy and it made me cry. it made me think twice about how quickly life can change. it was simply amazing and it is now my new favorite movie!
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  9. JustinA.
    Sep 25, 2008
    10
    Absolutely the best prison drama ever made. The acting was outstanding. This was a movie that makes you realize how crooked some prisons are. I am going to buy this movie now. Although the critics may make this seem like just an average movie, almost any action/drama fan can enjoy Felon.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  10. LouisP.
    Apr 19, 2009
    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
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  11. MarkoM.
    Jul 16, 2008
    9
    The movie finds a spot in the heart, sort to say. Its worth watching. 9-*
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  12. AJF
    Jul 27, 2008
    8
    Great performance by Kilmer. Really enjoyed this movie.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  13. FredG
    Oct 17, 2009
    8
    Very entertaining. Val Kilmer played his role to perfection.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  14. thelordoffilm
    Aug 13, 2010
    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.… Expand
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Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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
  1. 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.
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  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.
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  3. 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.
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