If I'm engaged by what's going on, I can absolutely enjoy a slow burn. Dragged Across Concrete is over two-and-a-half hours long, has a languid pace, and spends large swaths of the runtime on scenes that most movies wouldn't even think to include (the Jennifer Carpenter segment is the most obvious example). And yet I savoured basically every minute of it.
Granted, this is a crime thriller starring Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn, so I was more or less on the movie's side before the word go, but there's still something about the way it paces and unravels itself that really worked for me. The characters are so well-drawn, the action is so swift and unflinching, and the storytelling is so tense and colourful (black's a colour, right?) that the whole thing feels airtight, even when it drags.
Plus, for a movie this bleak, dark, and unapologetic in its worldview, it's got a surprisingly solid hangout vibe. The stakeout sequences, in particular, are among the best I've ever seen. Between the patience of the writing, the quality of the acting, and the stakes of the situation, you really begin to experience the boredom, frustration, and uncertainty of their dilemma, and you find yourself hoping that the long wait is worth it.
As far as payoffs are concerned, I'd say it is.
Grade: A-
P.S. Those masked robbers are the stuff of nightmares, but I couldn't get past the fact that one of them sounds exactly like Aaron Eckhart. Seriously, watch the movie and tell me you don't hear it.
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