Felon - Il colpevole

This was just great, guys - I loved it!

The acting was great, the script was great, the cast was great! I was actually moved by the performances and the storyline in this movie. It made me realize that I take lots of stuff for granted in this world. As easily as waking up in the morning - as easily and swiftly your life can be turned upside down. This movie perspectivates ones life and at the end, what you're left with, is the feeling of fulfillment and the urge to do something good to the ones you love - or find somebody to love and take good care of them.

A bit gory and ironic at the end - but overall - like one of the other reviews said - one of the greater prison-movies! ...And Val Kilmer - OMG - GREAT JOB, DUDE!

What a great experience, guys! Thank you for that!

/Martin Jakobsen

Despite the proliferation of prison movies since, well, ever, FELON manages to be a fresh and entertaining example of the genre. Stephen Dorff (remember him?) stars as an ordinary family guy who accidentally kills a burglar and finds himself in a high-security prison.

The usual prison clichés abound, with a lot of the focus on brutal fisticuffs as inmates battle it out for supremacy. It reminded me a little of Van Damme's IN HELL, although while that was a pure action film with superbly staged fights, FELON concentrates on the drama between the characters.

Overall, the film holds together well. Time is taken to get to know the characters, not just the prisoners but also those on the outside: the brutal guard who takes his problems home with him, the wife struggling to make it with a husband in prison. It's a film which avoids stereotyping heroes and villains and does well because of it.

One of the real strengths - and this is a surprise - is Val Kilmer in a supporting role as a seasoned lifer. Kilmer turns out to be excellent, bringing real gravitas to his role; to put it bluntly, I've never seen him this good before, and watching him inhabit his role is a real pleasure. Dorff, too, is actually pretty decent, making it easy for the viewer to sympathise with his character's plight.

FELON certainly isn't a classic film, and it's far from the best of the prison movie sub-genre, but it's one of those movies you catch on TV late at night which leaves a real impression. I really liked it.

This movie would be so much better if it wasn't filmed in such a shaky manner. It made me totally seasick. Great story, acting and premise, though. We really enjoyed the idea.

But I could barely watch - I had to mostly just listen to it. Filming with constant motion does NOT make the movie better. I hate when movies are like this.

At the start of the film, I wasn't impressed with much - poor directing, lack of proper cast direction, bad sound quality, and even got annoyed with the horrible shaky cam that started to give me a migraine. But as the film progressed, I'm not sure if I got used to the shaky cam (as well as the other issues) or if in fact, everything started to improve, but I started really getting into the story. It still had issues with bad scene transitions and some lack of proper direction, but most can be forgiven as rookie mistakes for newb (at the time) filmmaker Ric Roman Waugh.

However what this film did deliver is a constant tension and suspense filled story, getting better by the minute, and stellar performances by Dorff and especially Kilmer, who nailed his character. Waugh has certainly grown and improved as a filmmaker, as one of my favorite all-time films is Shot Caller (I rated it 10/10), also written and directed by Waugh. So maybe I was a little hard on this film as I saw it after Shot Caller, which was a near-perfect film, and thus set the bar high. Nevertheless, this film is a great story and another of Waugh's must-see films, but maybe see this one first if you haven't seen Shot Caller yet. Both films are in the same genre, but Shot Caller is imo Waugh's best work to date.

I can't say that I like it.

I can't say that I don't like it.

This sadly is the truth of what prison is like.

You can get jailed for little reason and unless your defense is solid, you go to jail - whether it's long term or not, there are rules...and they are not the same as outside.

Many times the guards are far worse than the inmates who are detained...and this proves it to a better perspective than most jail movies I've seen.

It's a game that once you leave that courtroom, you have to learn very quickly.

To those that commented on being charged and arrested for protecting your family - yes, sad but true...unless you were injured there was a weapon in direct contact, should you kill somebody or even injure them serious enough to be disabled or have physical problem, then you can be charged with murder, attempted murder, willful negligence and a slew of other charges.

Even if you were in a convenience store and it was being robbed and you worked as a cashier...unless a weapon was brought onto you, should you defend yourself and hold and sustain the attacker - you are liable for criminal charges...even if there are witnesses and camera video recordings.

The justice system is beyond messed.

If you were to injure somebody in a related instance, it would sometimes be better to be killed in the same event - as the law can screw you severely.

This happens in the US and in Canada.

Nobody is innocent and that is the sad but true fact.

Your own home, locked, secured and protected by you and your family has little value the moment you decide to defend yourself and have any good chance in doing so.

Justice is blind, it's for the wealthy and the famous.

Never rely on the public defender. Do whatever you must to get a lawyer that does not work for the county...they are a joke to the defense system and have virtually no trial experience.