Movie review
February 21, 2019 · 159 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
Two veteran police detectives, one an older family man and the other his younger partner, get suspended without pay after a civilian video of their rough arrest of a Hispanic drug suspect goes public and draws media scrutiny. Short on cash and options, the embittered cops stake out a professional criminal crew planning a major score, intending to rob the robbers for their own gain. Their path intersects with that of a recently paroled Black ex-con and his associates who are also desperate for money to support struggling families, leading to a violent confrontation in a gritty, stylized crime story focused on personal desperation, loyalty, consequences, and moral choices. The film includes blunt depictions of the cops' racism and taunts during the opening bust, along with character dialogue complaining about political correctness, media sensationalism, and the challenges of policing in the current climate. These elements appear as part of the protagonists' worldview and the story's pul
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for Dragged Across Concrete.
Woke representation / casting
Prominent roles include Black actors as the ex-con Henry and his crew/family plus one cop's fiancée in an urban crime setting that logically supports ethnic mix. No audience-visible quota-style emphasis, "brilliant" identity competence signaling in mismatched roles, or marketing focused on representation. Main leads are white male cops in traditional flawed-protagonist positions.
Woke political dialogue
Cops and supporting characters voice frustrations with political correctness, media turning incidents into "cause du jour," and being branded racist for aggressive tactics. These appear as character attitudes in a gritty context with no progressive activist dialogue, identity lectures, or institutional reform messaging pushing left-wing views.
Identity-driven story themes
Narrative follows parallel desperation and family loyalty between the white cops and Black ex-con's group amid urban hardship and crime. Race and neighborhood dynamics appear through blunt character attitudes and settings rather than as central identity-politics drivers or systemic critiques framed around modern activism.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Features character complaints about political correctness undermining policing, sensationalist media, and urban decay impacting families. Portrayals stay grounded in individual frustrations, moral ambiguity, and plot consequences without activist-style reframing around toxic masculinity, patriarchy, whiteness, or current identity politics.
Woke character or canon changes
Not relevant. This is an original story with no established canon, source material, or historical figures altered for ideological or identity reasons.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Public and critical reaction consisted mainly of left-leaning complaints labeling the film racist, right-wing, or overly sympathetic to politically incorrect cops and police brutality. No meaningful anti-woke or conservative complaints accused it of advancing woke, DEI, identity, or left-wing political content.
Creator track record context
Writer-director S. Craig Zahler has a pattern of gritty, violent genre films often described by critics as having right-of-center undertones or avoiding progressive messaging; he explicitly rejects agenda-driven work. Producer Dallas Sonnier shows right-leaning populist cinema associations. Other key crew lack strong records of identity-driven or activist creative output.
Production
