Felon

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Felon

R

2008

1h 44m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

60%

Tomatometer

25 Reviews

82%

Popcornmeter

10,000+ Ratings

A new convict (Stephen Dorff) struggles to maintain his sanity and sense of humanity after he's thrust into a prison system in which a brutal guard (Harold Perrineau) encourages gladiatorial combat between inmates.

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Critics Consensus

Felon offers a rather hackneyed depiction of prison life, but is held together by a pleasantly complex plot and solid performances from Kilmer and Dorff.

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Noel Murray

AV Club

It's still white-knuckle tense, and held together by dozens of small, well-observed moments.

Rated: B

Oct 18, 2008

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Ronnie Scheib

Variety

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

Jul 21, 2008

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John Anderson

Newsday

Tough, brutish prison drama with an easy windup, but good acting and an uncompromising take on the prison system.

Rated: 3/4

Jul 18, 2008

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Martin Tsai

New York Sun

“Felon” would have been noteworthy had we not seen it all before.

Apr 21, 2023

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Debbie Lynn Elias

Behind The Lens

An emotionally intense and powerfully strong film that assails one's sensibilities and mores, ... FELON touches our hearts and our minds, humanizing what and who many perceive as inhuman.

Nov 7, 2019

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C.H. Newell

Father Son Holy Gore

Explores how violence is endemic in the prisoner, no matter their background, almost as soon as their sentencing is handed down.

Rated: 4/5

May 5, 2019

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Stephen C

Success in 1 hour and 44 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Starring Val Kilmer as John Smith!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/12/25

Full Review

Matthew F.

“Felon” starts the plot of the movie in the very beginning, it keeps you engaged. Everyone in the movie got their fair share of an ending (good and bad). Highlights the violence in the prison system while also showing how a person will do anything to survive. Only real problem was how there was not a lot of prisoners and it did feel like a movie’s point of view of a prison, and not an actual prison. Would recommend for anyone who just enjoys prison drama!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/11/25

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Frans B

Great movie, lots of intrigue woven into compelling story. Cast all excels in character. Great cinematography and very well written. Waugh did good with this one, again

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

06/24/25

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Jeffrey P

Multiple stories converge in a well balanced manner to create a fresh spin on the prison drama subgenre.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

06/19/25

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Russell C

Director Ric Roman Waugh always tells an amazingly dramatic story, wrings out all the details in a script and assembles a cast to their highest potential. That and the brutally honest depiction of the prison politics- new or not- puts him up there with sure fire action brands like Gareth Evans.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/22/25

Full Review

Seth K

This is one of my favorite prison movies. Very watchable. Excellent performances throughout - Dorff, Perrineau, Shepard and of course, Kilmer. I put it up there with Shawshank, Shotcaller (same director), and American Me.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/16/24

Full Review

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Ric Roman Waugh

Director

Stephen Dorff

Wade Porter

Val Kilmer

John Smith

Harold Perrineau

Lt. Jackson

Marisol Nichols

Laura Porter

Anne Archer

Maggie

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Synopsis

A new convict (Stephen Dorff) struggles to maintain his sanity and sense of humanity after he's thrust into a prison system in which a brutal guard (Harold Perrineau) encourages gladiatorial combat between inmates.

Director: Ric Roman Waugh
Producer: Tucker Tooley, Dan Keston
Screenwriter: Ric Roman Waugh
Production Co: Stage 6 Films
Rating: R (Brutal Violence|Brief Nudity|Pervasive Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 18, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2012
Runtime: 1h 44m

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