User reviews

Four heads, eight hands and not a single decent script could come up in this mess of a movie. Throughout the view I couldn't understand the directon "Carcereiros" ("Jailers") wanted to bring: a social commentary on the thankless job of jailers in Brazil (as pointed out evidently with the main character's poor voice-work and images from many prison rebellions) or it was just an action/thriller film with countless shootouts with a jailer trapped in between. Well, the movie has both and more with Rodrigo Lombardi's character having to face two criminal factions fighting each other; the arrival of a foreigner terrorist; and an invasion by unkwnown yet highly dangerous people who come to the rescue or possible execution of an important prisoner. Those are great elements that fail to come to a more intelligent life due to the film's explicit nature of being a generic action film where viewers cannot find ways to know exactly who's shooting whom in this crazed scenario of a maximum securtiy facility.

As a denounce to the system, the movie is flawed because it's more concerned on the dangerous scenario, the shootouts, the killings and explosions without making a clear state of how underpaid, stressed and threatned jailers are while working in lousy conditions, with reduced crew that always makes them the first on the line of duty to fall, get used as shield by prisoners during hostage situations. When the lights go out, it's all about trying to find ways to survive, do your job, control damages and save prisoners from whatever come their way because after all they need to pay their due to society. On a positive note there's this sequence where a mentally deficient prisoners takes a jailer hostage and the chief jailer/lead character uses of his patience and skills to control the situation. He talks the talk, goes to the prisoner level and keeps things cool. That was important to see.

The movie comes from a TV series of which I never seen and never will, and I only went after the movie due to the immense campaign build on TV after its release on theaters. Most of the time I was depressed and annoyed by a picture that didn't gave me any character I could relate with or at least form some connection. However, when the character came along and some mysteries weren't puzzling anymore inside all that tension that's when the film got me on the edge, curious to know how things would end. I can only say that he's played by Dan Stuhlbach, just pay attention to him when he comes up. But before that, it was all long moments of tension that weren't carefully constructed by the makers. It all feels noisy, cam-shake-ish all the time, too bloody dark; and as for the dramatic aspects "Carcereiros" doesn't hold truth when almost nothing is answered about what happened in the rebellion. The only aftermath we get is a dark cycle for the lead character - it's hard to believe that in Brazil's situation where he can work as a teacher he prefers to stick with the most dangerous members of society. Sure, it makes more money but it doesn't bring the life he seems to be aspiring. That can generate discomfort among audiences because they know he has an alternative.

I'm disappointed with the message, under impressed with the action but it's not much of a bad movie. It's passable, it has worthy moments and some cool performances from Stuhlbach, the always honorable Milton Gonçalves and Jackson Antunes (as the main villain). When the suspense moments build up to something more clear than just prisoners killing prisoners, that's when everything makes it all interesting and almost spectacular to see. Other than that, it's a passable film. 6/10.

Starring another carefully-constructed-audience-grabbing-celebrity-turned-actor-from-a-ridiculous brazilian-reality-tv-show-designed-to-push-political-agenda-to-the-hearts-and-minds-of-the-people, comes to the screen, directly from favela land, another apology to crime, showcasing the 'honor' of the prison culture.. will be appreciated mostly by low lifes and the 'intelectual elite'. Buy a book instead.