'Brawl in Cell Block 99' could change view of Vince Vaughn forever

The idea of Vince Vaughn as a stoic, badass action hero should be laughable -- and part of the genius of the new, soulful grindhouse film Brawl in Cell Block 99 is that it isn't at all.

After making a dynamic breakthrough in the indie comedy Swingers just over twenty years ago, Vaughn has had a very hit or miss career as a leading man in Hollywood.

Early on he was either miscast or misused in big budget movies, and eventually he settled into a successful groove as a motormouth comic actor in movies like Old School and Wedding Crashers.

But Vaughn's wiseguy schtick started to feel strained after a while, even when his movies were still making money, and then until suddenly they weren't. He seemed washed up and he wasn't even 50 yet, which for a male performer is far from the sunset of a career.

I don't know the backstory of how he came to be cast in director S. Craig Zahler's Brawl in Cell Block 99. Perhaps he thought he has nothing to lose so he figured why not appear in a brutally violent, throwback action picture which is barely being released in theaters.

But it turns out that by shaving his head and dialing down his personality, Vaughn actually has far more range and depth as an actor that I could possibly have imagined.

Not unlike Zahler's horror western pastiche Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99 is a slow burn of a movie, but the quiet stretches work better in this film as Vaughn's tightly wound convict is pushed over the edge because of extraordinary circumstances that I wouldn't dare spoil here.

This is more than just a violent prison fight film -- although once the action gets going it is jaw dropping and horrific-- it's mostly a quiet character study, held together surprisingly well by Vaughn.

Instead of downplaying Vaughn's formidable height and physicality, Zahler accentuates it, and Vaughn does more with a deadpan silent look them reams of quippy dialogue ever could.

His character, Bradley Jenkins, is an old-fashioned man with a code, the kind of character that Charles Bronson or Lee Marvin would have played in their heyday. He only speaks when he has to and he means everything he says, In fact, he winds up behind bars because he stands up for something on principle, not simply because he got caught committing a crime.

And while Vaughn cuts a strong hero figure here, he is matched in a stirring turn from another reborn aging star, Don Johnson, as one of the more sadistic movie wardens I've ever seen. My only quibble with his performance is that I wish there were more of it in the film.

It is a long picture, one that requires some patience in the early going. But once you surrender to its bone dry, economical style (accompanied by a great retro soul soundtrack) you'll find a little gem that is destined to become a cult favorite and just might change peoples' perceptions of Vaughn as an actor forever.