Any film starring Mel Gibson carries a bit of baggage and Dragged Across Concrete uses that to its advantage. Mel is Brett Ridgeman, a police detective with too many years on the clock and too set in the old ways. When he and partner Anthony Lurasetti (Vince Vaughn) get caught on video roughing up a suspect, they both get suspended without pay.
It’s more than a little satisfying seeing Gibson’s character on the downward spiral as he and Lurasetti make plans to rob a criminal of his ill gotten gains to supplement their dwindling finances. During the scam they come across said criminals robbing a bank. Conflicted on which side of the law they will ultimately land, they give chase.
What follows is basically a road movie as a protracted chase gives us the opportunity to get to know the two disgraced cops and the bad guys as well. Ridgeman and Lurasetti have a history together and even though they riff off each other there is respect there as well.
Untimely becoming a morality play with more that its share of twists and turns, both the criminal and cop pay a heavy price by film’s end. If Gibson is destined to play to audience expectations and be the bad guy the rest of his career, Dragged Across Concrete provides a satisfying start.
Rob Hudson
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