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.

The family man Wade Porter (Stephen Dorff) is living the American Dream with his girlfriend Laura (Marisol Nichols) and their son Michael: they have a nice house, he has just raised a loan to make his company grow and they are going to get married. However their dream becomes a nightmare when Wade unintentionally kills a burglar that had broken into their house in the middle of the night on his lawn. He is sent to trial and accepts a deal proposed by the prosecutor, being sentenced to three years in prison. During the transportation, there is an incident in the bus and Wade is framed and sent to the maximum security wing under the command of the corrupt Lieutenant Jackson (Harold Perrineau). His cell-mate John Smith (Val Kilmer) that was sentenced to life revenging the death of his family befriends Wade and gives helpful advices and hope to Wade to return to his family.

The good "Felon" is another movie that discloses the corruption and brutality in the American Penal system, where the rules of a civilized society are neither followed by the inmates nor by most of the security guards. The dramatic story is engaging, and it is great to see Val Kilmer having again a top-notch performance after a long period of weak movies. Stephen Dorff is also great in the role of a family man that is unfairly imprisoned for protecting his family and dehumanizes and desensitizes to survive in the prison. The unrealistic conclusion is commercial and moralist, reducing the power and impact of the plot. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Felon"

This was an unexpectedly good movie, as it's share of prison life cliches is balanced by a well developed back study of the principals, with the main character sentenced to a three year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter. Wade Porter's (Stephen Dorff) life behind bars becomes increasingly complicated as he becomes embroiled in the internecine warfare among inmate cliques, and opts to walk a fine line as an independent, while a corrupt guard system capitalizes on putting down insurrections with a fatal brutality. Befriended by a surprisingly good Val Kilmer as convict John Smith (couldn't they have been more original?),Wade begins to learn the ins and outs of survival in jail, while the domestic home life he left behind continues to deteriorate by his absence. Just as Wade's outlook is bleakest, Smith offers up an ingenious plan that carries the hope of a reduced sentence, while allowing himself the desperate choice to join his murdered wife and daughter as his final reward. I would question whether prison rules would allow an inmate like Smith to wear his glasses while incarcerated, or why metal detectors never signaled the miniature shiv in hidden in them, but those are minor nitpicks in a story that leads to Porter's eventual release to start life anew. With it's underlying idea of 'family is everything', this is a film that comes well recommended along with a similarly themed picture, 2017's oddly titled "Shot Caller".