Netflix viewers were up for some action movies over the March 17-19 weekend, as evidenced by the daily Netflix top 10 chart on Monday, March 20. While all three of Vin Diesel's Riddick movies, Kick-Ass 2, Luther: The Fallen Sun and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire made the list, topping the US chart was a previously little-seen Mel Gibson action movie, Dragged Across Concrete.
Written and directed by S. Craig Zahler, Dragged Across Concrete follows two overzealous cops (Gibson and Vince Vaughn) who get suspended from the force. As a result, they dive into the criminal underworld to get their proper compensation. In addition to Gibson and Vaughn, the movie stars Tory Kittles, Michael Jai White, Jennifer Carpenter, Udo Kier, Laurie Holden, Thomas Kretschmann, Fred Melamed and Don Johnson.
Dragged Across Concrete was actually pretty well received by critics; it is "Certified Fresh" on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 76%. Despite that, it did not really register with audiences at the time. The movie was released in limited theaters and online at the same time in 2019, but there isn't any data on its US box office numbers from Box Office Mojo; it only made $660,132 globally.
But now the movie seems to be finding an audience on the popular streaming service. With a runtime of two hours and 39 minutes, it seems to defy the hilarious Saturday Night Live skit from last season about long movies that inspired Netflix to create a "short-ass" movie category. However it does add credence to the idea that more and more movies are getting longer.
Gibson has definitely taken a step back from the heights he reached with his career in the 1980s and 1990s. As a result, he has been doing smaller, more independent action movies in recent years like Dragged Across Concrete. Though he has been seen in some higher profile roles, including Daddy's Home 2 and Father Stu.
If you watch Dragged Across Concrete and enjoy the gritty violence — the movie is rated R in the US and 18 in the UK for "strong violence, grisly images, language and some sexuality/nudity" — you may want to check out some of writer/director S. Craig Zahler's other movies, including Brawl in Cell Block 99 and Bone Tomahawk, both of which are streaming for free on Tubi.
Watch the trailer for Dragged Across Concrete directly below:
In addition to being available on Netflix, Dragged Across Concrete is available via digital on-demand.
