Cella 211

Cell 211 is an interesting prison drama with some strong performances and plenty of tense moments. The story centers around Jaun, a prison guard visiting his new place of employment who is unfortunate enough to find himself caught in the middle of a prison riot. An unfortunate turn of events leads to Juan being locked inside the jail with the inmates. He quickly realises it's adapt or die, and assumes the identity of a prisoner to ensure his own survival. The film has some very good performances and like many gritty prison dramas, come excessive violence that'll have you wincing away. The early themes of the film revolve around loyalty and earning respect, bit deeper into the film it becomes more about survival. Juan is put into situations where it appears no-one is on his side and taking matters into his own hands seems to be the only way out. There were times during the film when i thought i could predict exactly how Cell 211 was going to play out. Having seen my share of prison themed dramas over the years, it's all to easy to see where a film might lead in the final third. I'm happy to say that Cell 211 set itself up in what i thought was a predictable way, but that in the end, and to it's credit, i was surprised by how it played out. A strong film with commanding performances. 8/10

Guerricaechevarria does it again, writing a brutal story of loyalty, friendship and guts.

The acting is great, well directed and well filmed. The characters are extremely real and believable.

In the end, everyone shows it's real face. Ethics and Character are put in a first plane, leaving uniforms, social class, education and every possible label behind. For some, it's every man for itself, and for others, it's justice or death.

This movie is extremely violent but not at a physical level, and delivers pure emotions throughout it's whole plot. It'll keep you at the edge of your seat for two hours, and leave you thinking about it for days.

A Spanish thriller based on the eponymous novel by Francisco Pérez Gandul.

Cell 211 tells the story of a riot inside a dangerous ward, just when a new prison officer is having his introductory visit to the same. By chance, he sees himself locked in with the rioters and, to survive, he assumes, a new identity as a prisoner.

Although the story is not especially original, the characters and the script are very good, the situation is completely believable within the Spanish social and jail context, and the end is not as predictable as you might expect. Moreover, the movie is unpretentious and fresh, which makes it even more enjoyable.

The acting is very good by all the cast, but especially by Luis Tosar as Malamadre, by Alberto Ammann as Juan Oliveras, and Antonio Resines as Prison officer Utrilla.

A very entertaining Spanish thriller with very good acting, that won 8 Goyas (Spanish Oscars) in 2009.

Good movie, well worth seeing.

Great idea for a movie, apparently the Yanks are going to remake it.

I think that will be good too, if they polish this movie up well, it will be even better.

New scariest movie prison dude ever in the halfwit enforcer.

Fair bit of action, pretty tense at times, even the wife or girlfriend will enjoy it as it's very easy to follow, even with the subtitles.

Not for kids, but there is nothing in here teenagers haven't seen before.

Got to fill in some more lines ffs. Is that enough?

Concerning a rookie guard who must pose as a prisoner once a full scale riot breaks out, Cell 211 is an absolute gem.

Fiercely tense with a cracking pace, an edgy sense of urgency and some ugly scenes of brutality, it's also got some great and believable performances as well as some rather poignant scenes, as bonds are made between prisoners and our protagonist gets to see things from their perspective.

Yet the last thing Cell 211 is is generic. It has some refreshingly genuine left field unexpected twists and developments that keep you pretty much hooked, from its attention grabbing opening scene to its blistering conclusion. It also does a great job of keeping you in suspense as to whether or not our protagonist will be discovered, with the viewer left under no illusions what will happen to him if he is.

It's also got some very decent production values and mercifully refrains from that awful jump cut editing during the more chaotic prison scenes.

But best of all is its sheer unpredictability as trust me- after the hour mark, you really won't be sure how things are gonna turn out and will be hooked all the more.

Overall a great film and highly highly recommended. See it now, you'll be glad you did. 9/10, Sheer class from Spain.