Given my love of hostage dramas (Die Hard) and high concept thrillers (Speed) it's amazing this story hasn't been done before. On his first day at work, a prison guard gets stuck inside the maximum security wing of a major Spanish Prison. In attempt to survive he pretends to be an inmate while negotiations with the outside authorities proceed. That's the premise of Spanish thriller Cell 211.
It's a great concept from the outset, allowing for a multitude of scenes where hero Juan may, or may not, get sussed out and killed by the killers he's locked up with. It's well directed, has great performances from Alberto Ammann in the John McClane man-on-the-inside role and Luis Tosar as the imposing Duke Of New York king-of-the-prisoners role.
And in any other movie, 'Die Hard In A Prison' would be enough to satisfy my entertainment needs. But Cell 211 bravely goes further pushing Juan into areas which blur his (and our) perception of good and bad, right and wrong, good and evil. It pushes it to the point where our view of the Prison Service is seriously tarnished and our view of the violent and ruthless lead criminal, Malamadre, is softened to that of an anti-hero of sorts. A great film from start to brilliant finish.
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