Shot Caller (2017) User Reviews (396)

Shot Caller - Superb acting and storyline!

[dannyloeper · 8/10 · 15 February 2020]

• This for me feels like a hidden gem, as i remember once seeing trailers and teasers for it but never actually saw it. I feel like i have never experienced a movie that both demonstrates anger and violence paired with the sentiment displayed in Money's story.
• One of this movies greatest accomplishments to me is the pacing and timeline, as the constant back and fourth of the past and present is done is a way that you never lose track of the main story, while still learning about how Money adapted to the gang that he joined. Seeing him transition from a regular business man with a family to a gang member, doing things he never imagined having to do really emphasizes the struggles of trying to survive in a prison such as this. We even see early on what happens if you don't get affiliated with the right people, seeing a new prisoner silenced and stabbed on his first night in.
• Seeing Money forced between the 2 realities of his life outside of prison is really taxing, especially the scene of his son trying to help him escape this gang life, but him knowing that there is no true way out, but to become the leader.
• The end of this movie is done so well. In a way i thought we were gonna get a cliche ending of some sorts, but seeing Money adapt to this life and manipulate his way into getting to the leader just to kill him is amazing.
• The last note i wanted to speak on is how the fights and deaths were played out. One thing i always fear going into a more violent movie is that the fights feel so out of hand and wacky, but the way Ric Roman Waugh handled the deaths, especially shotguns are almost beautiful. Money never wanted to kill him, but in this world, everyone knows that if you distrust your group you will pay. I guess in Money's case, you can lie and throw them under the bus, but then just respond with taking a razor to Beasts neck.

• Please go see this movie, its so incredible!

Wow. Hidden gem of a film

[danielmanson · 8/10 · 18 September 2021]

Well I can safely say I did not expect that film to be that good. It's absolutely outstanding. Amazing acting, brilliant storyline and the characters are so good. It's genuinely got the whole package.

First 20 minutes or so I was a bit 50/50 on what was happening. There was 2 storylines and no real direction for either. Then it slowly starts falling into place and it gets better and better and better. And that's the only real negative I have to offer on this film. Maybe another negative is that I personally would have liked a little more depth on the 2 police officers. You are offered very little on them and it doesn't particularly take anything away from this movie, just would have liked to have known more. Like why is he so hellbent on wanting to catch these etc

But that's honestly nit picking because this really is a great film. The idea of the past/present storylines then merging was done absolutely brilliantly and best of all his character arc was simply superb. And to top it off it gives off a great message about people being institutionalised and what can happen to low offenders.

For a film I genuinely never heard of before, this genuinely blew me away. The only reason I haven't gone higher on ratings is that I have given films like the the departed and shutter island 9/10 and I don't think it's on that sort of level. But I'd go 8.5/10 on this. Please give this a watch if you haven't already.

Very Good Drama/Suspense/Prison Movie

[destinylives52 · 8/10 · 28 August 2017]

"Shot Caller" is a tense, mostly terrifying story of a high ranking, prison gang member (played by Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau) out on parole. On orders from his boss to spearhead a major score of illegal guns, Waldau has no choice but to see it through. To refuse would mean his execution, as well as his family's. Omari Hardwick plays a cop who is also Waldau's parole officer. Somehow, Hardwick is tipped off to the illegal guns; and he puts Waldau on surveillance, gleaning as much information as he can in order to prevent hundreds of fully automatic rifles going out into the streets. Two men on opposite sides of the law, and only one winner will emerge.

"Shot Caller" is told from two timelines: the present, and the past which reveals how Waldau became the ruthless gangster that he is. It is the past timeline that is the most gripping, showing us a drastically different man who made a mistake that led to a devastating, downward spiral of his life. But years in prison has not fully transformed Waldau…carefully hidden deep within the monster, there is a bit of humanity left.

My most memorable, movie moment of "Shot Caller" is the scene when Waldau butchers a fellow gangster in the man's home. No fancy choreography, just someone getting stabbed multiple times until his life ends.

"Shot Caller" would have received a higher grade but for the shenanigans near the end of the movie. **SPOILER ALERT**Waldau hides a weapon in his anus, and from the time he is captured to the time he is sent back to his old prison, the weapon is still there? No law enforcement personnel ever looked up his butt to see if there were anything hidden there? Also, when Waldau attacked his boss because Waldau's family were threatened with execution, how does Waldau know that the hit wasn't already in place? These are big shenanigans, but the rest of the movie is so good that they didn't damage the movie much. For those who enjoy a good drama/suspense/prison movie, this one is definitely for you.

Mannysmemorablemoviemoments

Bad title, excellent movie

[BongoJustice · 26 July 2017]

The title is the only thing that's not quite there with this movie - it suggests a sort of b-grade thriller. But what this movie actually delivers is a taut, razor-sharp story about how someone's life can go horribly wrong.

This is the only thing I've seen NCW in apart from Game Of Thrones and I was blown away by his range - he's in full-on acting mode here, entirely believable, and hard as nails.

One of the best movies of 2017.

Far Fetched ?

[ianmerryweather · 6/10 · 26 July 2017]

So someone jumps a red light accidentally and causes a fatality. OK Is sentenced to 16 months after some plea bargaining. OK

But then ends up in a very violent maximum security prison and ends up joining a gang and committing murders on behalf of that gang ???

Sorry but that's where the story line just got a bit to much for me. If you can suspend reality for a moment maybe you can enjoy this film like some of the other reviewers but the basic concept spoiled it for me.

Maybe if the character was a misguided criminal or something it would have been more believable.

There are 2 types of movies. Only 2.

[fficti · 9/10 · 4 September 2017]

There's the movie you close when it ends. You don't look at the credits, you just close everything and go on about other things.

And there's the movie that lingers. The one that glued you till the very last scene, and then it cuts to the credits and you watch all of it.

Shot Caller is the latter. Stuntman turned writer/director Ric Roman Waugh signs here a beautiful, poignant and powerful movie. The story is compelling, easy to understand. It shines in its simplicity, with a cast that leads the narrative like masters.

I highly recommend you watch it.

Some Criminals Are Made In Prison

[JakeRfilmfreak · 7/10 · 4 February 2024]

Shot Caller is a 2017 crime thriller that centers around a family man and his transformation into a hardened prison gangster after being convicted in a DUI car accident.

This is a fantastic movie that takes a serious hard look at how some criminals can be made and not born the way they are. It's a gripping and tragic story that sucks you in and gives you a glimpse of the harsh realities that can be associated with doing hard prison time. The acting is incredible, watching the main character (Money) portrayed by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau transform from your everyday family man into the ruthless killer that he becomes is actually quite chilling. It's a gritty film that packs a big punch, leaving you feeling bad for how the main character ends up, but is also a satisfying way to end the story.

It might not be for everyone, but I found the film absolutely captivating. If you've never seen Shot Caller before, I would highly recommend checking it out.

Pleasantly surprised.

[MrSelfPaid · 10/10 · 11 August 2017]

It has been a long time since I wrote a review but this movie deserves my time and attention. I definitely did not expect this movie to touch me in the way that it did.

The Pros:- -It is so well edited that I had to recheck the run time of the movie when it ended. Two hours flew past like the wind.

-The acting is great.

-The plot will reel you in and never let go. This is simple story telling at it's best.

-The dialogue will never feel boring and the prison scenes are shot in a way that will leave you in awe.

-The score is one of the best I've heard in recent memory. Reminds me of Sicario, another great film. Some people said it could have been better but I disagree. The score had me wishing I can write music that good for movies. It had a certain twist to it, sounds of flutes or sounds of Arabian music undertones.

• The directing? All hail Ric Roman Waugh. I'm going to search for some of his other movies. If half are as half as good as half of this film, I might pass out with glee.

The Cons: There are non I can think of. I wrote this review a few days after seeing the film so that I can write a honest review absent attachment to the film.

Go see it.

Powerful movie, but plot holes abound

[johnhsmith-00056 · 7/10 · 10 March 2021]

This film was well made and the acting is top notch. A classic tale about how prison can make someone worse, not better.

However, we seriously have to suspend our disbelief to make this story work, and assume these things:

1. That a first time offender on DUI resulting in a death would be put in the same prison with the most hard core, violent criminals.

2. That to survive in prison this man has no choice but to join a white supremacist gang. Seriously, that's the only option?

3. That a man who supposedly loves his family above all would deliberately sabotage multiple attempts to mitigate his sentence and get back to his life, like making a deal on the stolen weapons. Or just not killing people.

4. That a local parole officer is going to put himself in charge of a major sting operation involving thousands of weapons

Wow, why have I not heard of this film or seen any trailers?!

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 10/10 · 25 July 2017]

I am blown away after watching this masterpiece after hearing a friend talk so highly of it. I asked them what it was about, and they said "just go watch it". Well, every now and then a film comes along that will leave an impact on you that will make it hard for you to forget. This film is one of those.

This story was told with such realism, even the actors did not seem like they were acting. At first I was hesitant when I saw that Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau - Jaime Lannister from Game of Thrones was cast, but wow did he nail his role. His transition from a white collar to jailed convict was perfect. Even Jon Bernthal's acting was great. For that matter, every character was cast perfectly and were very convincing in their roles.

The writing and screenplay is what truly made this film so great. It's a story told really well, transitioning back and forth at just the right time from back-story to current time, although I wish it had opened with the white-collar scene first, then how it led into the incarceration, and then additional back stories filled in. Had the transitioning not happened, it would have been the best documentary-type film I've ever seen, and felt even more realistic. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed the way the story was told as well as the unpredictability and surprise twists. By the end, I was left wanting more!

Stunt-man turned writer/director (also both for this film) Ric Roman Waugh did an outstanding job converting the screenplay to a very convincing on-screen masterpiece.

The cinematography and editing were perfect, but the score could have been a little better.

I hope that based on the ending, there is at least a part 2 that comes out very soon. It's a well deserved 9.5 rounded up to a 10/10 from me. So now, just go watch it!

Halfway accurate

[bigjust-86902 · 7/10 · 18 December 2019]

So some of this movie is super accurate and some of it is totally BS. The tattoos are great, there's literally tats on those guys that you wouldn't recognize if you weren't part of the prison system. It's also unlikely that his commitment offence and his background would land him in a level IV prison. The pressure that the gangs put on people is real. As long as you're not a rapist, child molester, R.A.T., and a few other crimes they won't tolerate....you will put in work or you will have to PC up. (Protective custody). So it's possible to enter prison with a small sentence and wind up with life. His path to being a shot caller is a little...ehh, I mean it's possible if you're intelligent and ruthless but not entirely probable. The scene at the end....no. Most of the big gangs don't have a single leader either. Oh and why does every single prison movie absolutely have to have dirty "guards"? There's definitely dirty staff that work in prisons but nothing like every single movie just has to portray. Overall it's a decent movie with both very accurate and very fake scenes. Worth a watch if you're bored.

thoroughly enjoyable

[xsagaroth · 9/10 · 25 July 2017]

Strongly recommend watching this, very strong performances from all of the cast. Good score, solid cinematography and a story line that got me hooked from the start and one that I don't doubt for a second has happened numerous times around the world.

Will watch again (because that's what i do when i like a film).

Very good

[bnykgqf · 7/10 · 8 March 2023]

Very good movie. I think the weak link of the movie would probably be Emory cohens character. Nokolaj was great but his American accent is pretty terrible however the writing saves many of the flaws he brings to the picture. Jon bernthal continues to impress in smaller parts. All around pretty serviceable prison movie that gave me vibes from the directors previous movie with Val Kilmer and Stephen Dorf. This however is the superior of the two films. Although some of the story of how he ended up in prison, let alone become the shot caller were very implausible also be very nice to me in comments as I have no ability to punctuate or spell God bless.

Nothing bad, but sadly also not a lot of good either.

[hcamiel · 5/10 · 21 June 2017]

I saw this film 6/21/2017 at a preview screening.

It was a movie that started interesting, but the more it went on, the more i started to wonder "what's the point?" until it ended leaving me feeling very lukewarm.

The film follows a non linear progression, it paints a dramatic picture about family, the prison system and how it changes people. Coaster-Waldau plays the protagonist "Money" and we follow his journey through the prison system interwoven into a plot about an impending deal between two criminal gangs.

The acting is quite good, camera is decent, score was a little on the dramatic side for a movie like this. for me it all comes down to the poor story. To me it felt like an Antoine Fuqua kind of movie, but without a good story. Some plot points feel unresolved and parts feel like they could use some more attention.

Some might like it, some might not, personally i have a hard time recommending it though due to its length and lack of any real plot. i think i get what Waugh was trying to say but sadly it falls flat.

I enjoyed this movie

[0U · 23 February 2020]

It showed a lot of potential with the premise, but it spends most of its time hovering between wanting to be a smart character study of how a businessman can become a ruthless gangster through prison, and a violent action/thriller that focuses on gangs and how they operate. By not fully committing to either, some potency is lost. But is it bad? Not at all. In fact, with a captivating central performance of a complex character from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and enough interesting ideas to hold your attention (particularly when it comes to the effects and inner-workings of a prison), it's still pretty entertaining.

Excellent film! nice surprise

[utzbfn · 7/10 · 15 May 2023]

These days the surprises are not often to the upside, but Shot Caller was an exception. Solid cast, great acting, top-notch writing and a plot that is both interesting and believable.

It's the first thing I've seen by this director and I do plan to look at what else he's done.

The scenes jump back and forth through time: before & after prison, and in prison. The prison scenes are sterilized but better than most. The only letdown is the last 20 minutes or so it turns more predictable and formulaic.

I have to add, they didn't do themselves any favors with this title. After watching this "Shot Caller" seems strange and way off.

Overall it's a good one. I'd recommend it.

Best movie I've seen all year

[godpile · 10/10 · 14 July 2017]

Intrigued by the trailer, I was expecting, as usually, to be let down by the actual movie. Didn't happen.

I really liked it's non-linear progression, which managed to not be annoying and made sense. But didn't give the whole game away either.

The pace was engaging - not too fast to where it's just bash-bang- boom and no time to pull you along on the journey and not so slow that you're staring at characters .

Also, a big question in the movie is the main guy's motivation for his actions - various characters wonder and ask him directly. While typically the reveal would form a big emotional piece of the plot or would do a 4 second cutaway to a simple explanatory scene, the makers of this movie managed to resist the easy answer and instead left us guessing as well. Thus, making the guy seem even more of a mystery and making the mystery of his motivations itself a theme.

Even the relationship with his son - an unavoidable theme - was surprising and seemed fresh.

It was also interesting to see the idea of how a good guy turns bad and enters the underworld in such a compelling way - the wannabe psychologist attraction.

Fun to watch... don't think about the plot too much

[bomdemais · 7/10 · 14 April 2022]

I enjoyed watching this movie. But...

*** SPOILERS ***

Money's "plan" for saving his family was incredibly stupid!!! It had a very high likelihood of failing, which meant a very high likelihood of his family being slaughtered by gang members.

In movies like Oceans 11, there are always way too many things that have to ALL go just right, for the whole thing to come together. That was the case for Money's plan also, except if his plan didn't all go exactly right, his wife and son were going to be killed!!

Let's do some math. And I'm being very generous in these percentages.

Chance of smuggling a razor blade into a high security prison: 70% (assuming he had some magic way of getting past metal detectors, etc.) Chance of his family not being killed while we was waiting to get put back into prison with the beast: 90% Chance of being taken to the beast after going back to prison: 90% Chance of getting the handcuffs off, subduing the guard, and being able to open the beast's cage: 40% (probably lower) Chance of winning the fight with the beast: 70% Chance of not getting killed by the cops at the gun bust: 90% Etc. Etc.

There are more things that had to go just right for the plan to come together, but if we do the math with just these items, his chance of success was: 70% x 90% x 40% x 70% x 90% = 15.9% chance of success

NOT GOOD!!

If he had just gone along with the mission, everything would have been fine. Sure, he would have been stuck in the "brotherhood", always worried about the next mission, and never able to go back to his regular life. But he couldn't exactly go back to his regular life stuck back in prison with a life sentence! And by sticking with the mission his family would have had a 100% chance of not being brutally murdered!

Greatest Movie of 2017

[lmlmacedo · 10/10 · 3 September 2017]

After seeing this movie for the first time this Friday, I immediately felt compelled to watch it a second time in a more thorough way (which I did the next day). The movie is so well structured, with perfect dialog, great cast (perfectly suited for their roles), outstanding tempo and content density, excellent cinematography and an amazing performance from Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau, that I feel forced to claim this is the best movie of this year. Really Oscar award material. The IMDb rate so far is completely understated (7.4 at the time I write this review). A MUST WATCH.

Unrealistic but very good acting

[Grimtyr · 6/10 · 21 December 2018]

1. He was in prison for not even a hit and run. An accident under the influence. And put in this prison!?

2. The gang know that he betrayed them. The mexicans and cartel know that also. Still he will be running things! And that would secure that his family was safe. Instead of one gang threating his family in my mind it would be three after his despection making them all lose money.

3. He could just left Shotgun alone and let him be the fall guy to the gangs and be arrested the same in the bust. Then he also could done the same and point 2 would not matter.

4. He was a former business man outside prison who was in for a car accident. With no criminal experience at all from the street. Why would the boss give him power of a deal in this magnitude?

5. He seem to like fighting and killing in prison. So why even question what his boss demanded. Live the life of a criminal on the outside also making more money for them until he was put back again. That had made both richer and the protection of the gang.

But still very good acting especially by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

Heavy. Intriguing. Surprising. Worth watching

[Hexecutioner · 8/10 · 26 July 2017]

Unexpectedly, this is one of the better films released this year and is definitely worth watching.

Albeit the story-line seems rather dull and predictable at first, I assure you that past the 20min mark you'll be on edge and glued to the screen right to the end.

Some of the acting could have been much better considering the actors caliber but the story-line makes up for the shortfall.

Without spoiling it for you, it will take balls to watch this film to the harsh, brutal and twisted end. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

Would love to see a second installment.

Family above All

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 28 August 2022]

The criminal Jacob "Money" Harlon (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is released from prison, and he immediately meets the gang leader Frank "Shotgun" (Jon Bernthal) for a transaction of a great number of AK-15 and Glock smuggled from Afghanistan by the former soldier Howie (Emory Cohen). Then he visits his parole officer Kutcher (Omari Hardwick). Jacob recalls his previous life, when he was a successful family man stock broker happily married with a child with Kate Harlon (Lake Bell). One night, they go to a bar with their friends Tom (Max Greenfield) and Jennifer (Jessy Schram) to celebrate the possibility of Jacob wins a new account. While driving home under influence, Jacob accidentally runs a red light and Tom dies in the accident. Jacob is sentenced to jail and on his first night incarcerated, he sees a fellow inmate being raped. He feels that his only chance is being aggressive and his attitude calls the attention of the leader Bottles (Jeffrey Donovan), in the beginning of the criminal career. Along the story, his climbing in the crime and his motives are disclosed.

"Shot Caller" is a great and very realistic prison film. This kind of story is usually attractive, but "Shot Caller" is one of the best of the genre. The performance of Nikolaj Coster-Waldau is the great difference, and worth of a Oscar indication. His transformation from a stockbroker to a gangster leader is impressive in every sense including physically. There are many actors and actresses that the viewer is used to see in TV Series in this films, such as Jon Bernthal from "The Walking Dead"; Jessy Schram from "Falling Skies" and "Chicago Med"; Lake Bell; among many others. But "Shot Caller" makes the viewer think about the corruption and the transformation of people in the penal system for the worst and maybe it is the greatest importance of this film. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sem Perdão" ("No Mercy")

A must watch for crime/prison movie lovers..

[vmatheboss · 10/10 · 26 July 2017]

I normally don't have time to review or even let alone use IMDb, but this is definitely one of my favorite movies out for 2017 and I HAD TO REVIEW THIS hoping more movies like this comes along. I haven't had any films which kept me interested throughout the entire movie like this in a long time. If you are into movies which brings the feelings of how it would feel like to be in prison and to be in dept of "prison politics", this movie is a must watch. The main character "Jacob" played his role very well, from a business man to a full blown convict. It might looks crazy, but there are people out there who are really living that lifestyle. I was surprised there were so many familiar faces in this movie I'm sure viewers will recognize, they all pretty much fit into their roles.

Over all I would recommend this to everyone looking for that prison experience film. The details with how prison life is so detailed and correct. Everything from the dorm rooms to prison gangs and politics. The only other one like this was a movie called "Felon" back in 2008 (but this movie Shot Caller has more action) I was hoping for another one just like it, and this one satisfies me until something similar and better comes along in the near future!

believable portrayal of the effects of institutionalization

[drunk_please_disregard · 7/10 · 3 February 2022]

One of the more realistic (if exaggerated) depictions of our beloved justice system that I've seen in awhile. The lead seems a little weak but the tats add alot to the legitimacy of his character imo. A movie that leans heavily on the writing and direction but ultimately succeeds.

Overrated

[MrMowji · 4/10 · 25 September 2017]

• They try to kill Money in a party! Why? Just wait for him to be alone then get the job done. What's the point of getting him murdered in a crowded area? It didn't seem that they (Shotgun and Herman) would be the first suspects if Money gets killed.

• Jennifer sues him, but their families seemed very close to each other.

• The lawyer knows about that prison and its dangerous situations. So, the guards, manager and ... must know it too. And yet, no one seems to care.

• The scene in prison where he kills the snitch was weird.

• In the riot scene, how they've got those long blades? Did they do it like that balloon? Why did he save Herman Gomez? Why did the sniper shoot to the head? I think firing to the sky or a leg would be sufficient too. See, this is a prison where they put him in. Why? The whole riot idea was wrong. Why would you riot when you know that some/all of your guys might get killed or be seen by cameras? What's the point? Where did this obsession to kill other guys come from?

• How did he figure out how to open handcuffs with that thing?

• At the end, he receives a letter from his son. He says "I will learn from your mistakes." What mistakes exactly? Driving carelessly?

• Emory Cohen's character (Howie) wasn't convincing. He looks so naive to decide and plan this deal, find contractors to move guns to America, and get involved with gangsters. Even by cooperating with his friend in Afghanistan, it seemed strange.

• So, criminals in a gang follow someone who kills their current boss. The new boss just needs to claim it.

• Character development wasn't OK.

• There is almost a loop in background music.

Perhaps with some changes in the script and characters this would be a great movie. But it's not.