I liked it a lot. One mistake can change your life forever.

A gripping build-up that falls short.

Great acting and feel to the movie , I wish it made a little more sense. The story was engaging but the more you think about the plot the less sense it made especially the ending . Worth a watch

One of the best movies every made. Brilliant in every regard.

Idk about the 19% who don't like this film? I guess if your like an ole lady or something but c'mon. If you're not obsessed with every movie having to have a happy ending and a bright message! Other than that I don't see how someone can not even appreciate the filmmaking aspect of it alone. Great movie!

Great movie that also goes along with two other movies. The movie "Felon" and the movie "Snitch" so I would definitely recommend watching all 3 of the movies....

Hell yeah this movie will always be bad ass

The movie was interesting and enjoyable to watch, but there were too many things wrong with it that was counterproductive to the message it was trying to portray. The main message from this movie was a deterrent to young men into going into prison and getting caught in the revolving door that many get trapped in for decades (sometimes even for life). The issue is mainly how everything developed. Nobody magically goes from normal citizen to hardened thug, that's just not how it plays out. A lot of elements were skipped to have such a transition, such as repeat offenses, drug problems, alcohol problems, lack of education, etc. The system just doesn't work that way. Gangs are selective in who they pick, and a well educated man in prison will not mesh with them. First time small offenders are also not placed in prison hot zones and general population. There's a lot of safety nets set in place to try to circumvent prisoners without drug, alcohol, and minor non violent crimes to keep them out of the revolving door. Not only is it disrespectful to the corrections system America has built, but it harms the message as well because it doesn't play out the way the movie portrays. This movie might have been more realistic back in the 70s, but so much progress has been made since then that you just don't see this anymore. American prison systems are very structured and categorized, and if you end up in a violent gang, you were either born into it or you chose to go into it and stay into it. Nobody can accidentally fall into it like the movie portrays if they previously has no affiliation with it, especially if they are educated and have no drug or alcohol issues. At best, this movie is a deterrent for young adolescents who can't spot the problems with this movie. I'd wager most adults can't, but if you're an adult with no criminal record chances are you don't need this movie's message since you are averse to crime anyways. Still a good movie, with a good message, and healthy to society and the youth so they get my 3.5/5 rating but the director needs to either add a lot more elements to make the shown transition more realistic, or just change what the main character transitions into.

Good story. Very poignant and depressing but well made and captivating

This movie does an excellent job in showing what a slippery slope life can sometimes be - brilliant casting and a truly sad tale about a family man in the wrong place at the wrong time who then succumbs to the inevitable pressures that are bestowed upon men within the prison system.

I just felt like the story was absolutely everywhere without a real conclusion. He gets out of jail, doesn't care about his wife or kid and instead just kills some people and gets life. The movie ends with him somehow jailing a guard into a cell to kill another inmate, which in reality he'd be shot instantly the second he came out. Horrible ending with the kid forgiving his father for his actions which make no sense because why?

Not bad. Not crazy great. Doesn't show too much of real prison life. More about this little story. 3.5*

I think this movie will go down as one of the best "sleeper" movies. It's not underrated, but it's not talked about enough either. The directing and editing are extremely effective at explaining backstory, character building and giving a strong sense of character motivation without relying on lazy scripts. The script is so well written. The writers were effective in limiting dialogue to allow the scene and actions speak for themselves. Zero fat on this script. The casting was spot on. What a wonderful job of pulling together a collection of actors we will all recognize who were able to convince us they were not acting. What an amazing job of reminding the audience that tragic mistakes can have tragic consequences and rather than live in denial, be brave.

The fact that this movie got rave reviews from some viewers proves that both tastes and opinions vary. To me, the movie was a bit convoluted at times. I guess I have a lazy movie brain, but I prefer a movie that at no point has me asking questions about WTF is going on about any aspect of it, and I found myself doing that a bit with this one--but that's not even my biggest gripe here. I just didn't really like it that much. (Even the parts that were straightforward and well-understood). And let's face it, there's no accounting for taste, so explaining to others WHY I didn't like it may be an exercise in futility. It just wasn't really a story that floated my boat. Additionally I must say (spoiler alert) that if you like getting thoroughly depressed with a final outcome that takes a man's life that is fairly normal in the beginning of the movie and utterly destroys it and turns it into a living nightmare one excruciating step at a time all throughout the movie and right up until the bitter end with no redemption whatsoever that saves him from a miserable fate at its conclusion--if you really really enjoy that kind of a story--then maybe this is the movie for you, after all.

It like to show the victim white man which is as bad as if you want to victimize a woman or a black! The family can’t prevent him to do wrong by killing others but at the end preventing him to have his freedom! That’s how you somebody reason against family while selling it as family man?! This movie is wrong in several levels, don’t waste your time!

Good movie...a few good twist and turns.. a glimpse into what a stay in the penitentiary could look like..

It was fun, everyone took their roles seriously and the music (though repetitious) added an unnerving dread to the films atmosphere. That being said, the movie felt cheap, tacky at times, and unnecessarily confusing. This was made worse by the fact I had a lot of difficulty understanding what everyone was saying. (Subtitles weren't on option on my stream with ads)

Like watching paint dry. Never goes anywhere, way too long, predictable and boring

This is a well-written movie. It is a bit slow, but is also one of the few character movies I've enjoyed. It is also a movie that is somewhat relatable to everyone in the way that something tragic happens and forces us to pivot a different direction then circumstances force us to make decisions we don't like in order to survive and hopefully, at the end of all of that we become the master of our domain even if we're in a super shitty place. The cast is exceptional: Jeffrey Donovan, Holt McCallany, Benjamin Bratt, Lake Bell, Jon Berenthal, Max Greenfield, and Omari Hardwick.

I liked how the story unfolded, better than in Felon. Reminded me of One flew over cuckoo’s nest - once you got into system, there is no going back to normal.