User Reviews

"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

I hadn't even heard of this movie before stumbling across it on Netflix. It had a sparse description, but it was enough to intrigue me enough to watch it. Sometimes I stumble on a real gem when cruising around Netflix, and that is definitely true for this movie. It manages to tell two stories - how a law abiding man can turn into a harden criminal, as well as what happens when that same person is freed into society. The movie chooses to keep cutting back between these two parts of the man's life, which I think is much better than if it had been told chronologically - it keeps the storytelling fresh while peeling away the layers of the character so we know what's driving him and making him make his decisions. Almost everything else about the movie is top notch - the production values are solid and the acting is convincing and professional. The only flaws I feel the movie has is that the central character's transformation into a hardened con is done a little too quickly, and the ending to somewhat of a degree is predictable. But those are just minor flaws in an otherwise outstanding production. This is one movie that is definitely worth the time to invest in.

*Minor Spoilers Ahead* Shot Caller flashes back and forth in time and we join Jacob (Nikolaj Coaster-Waldau) as he's being released from a maximum security prison. He's not very excited but he's treated well and is escorted around by Frank aka Shotgun (Jon Bernthal) who's a fellow gang member that Jacob knew back in jail. Jacob has been tasked by The Beast (Holt McCalllany) to set up an arms deal. You don't refuse the head of the crew and Jacob is caught between a rock and a hard place.

We then go 10 years back and we meet the pre-prison Jacob. He's involved in finance and he has a beautiful wife Kate (Lake Bell) and a son. One night he goes out to dinner with a couple of friends and he has a couple of drinks. When he's driving them home, he gets distracted and runs a red light. They get hit and the one of the passengers gets killed.

This movie is a dark character piece. It's about Jacob's journey from clean-cut family man to a hard and violent gang member that shouldn't be crossed. This kind of movie has been done before but Shot Caller does an excellent job of getting you to feel for Jacob but at the same time being shocked by his actions. In this context, you understand why he did what he did but the depth of his transformation is shocking yet intriguing. The ending of the movie goes in an unexpected direction that is kind of take it or leave it but its about the journey and that's the most important part of Shot Caller. It's worth noting that Jacob has to join a white supremacist gang and the movie doesn't really comment on their policies. I don't agree with those policies but the movie is about Jacob and not this gang. If you want a movie that takes a hard look at the white supremacist movement, check out Imperium.

The biggest reason you should check this out is the awesome acting by the cast. This is an amazing acting job by Coaster-Waldau, he's great on Game of Thrones but he hasn't had the same kind of mainstream success outside of it. He completely pulls off this difficult role and it's one of the best acting jobs I've seen this year. I really like Jon Bernthal as an actor, he's good in this but I was wondering why he thought this project was for him? He's almost too high profile for this. Omari Hardwick was decent as Kutcher, the parole officer. I wish Lake Bell was in this movie more but she really threw her all into this. She has some very emotional scenes. Jeffery Donovan and Holt McCallany make for intimidating villains as Bottles and the Beast respectively.

The only negative thing I have to say about Shot Caller is that as the story went along, the plausibility of Jacob's actions became more and more outlandish. It's a stretch that he'd even be thrown in this facility but I let that go because the movie explained it. The farther Jacob is indoctrinated into the gang, the more violent and explicit his actions become. That's the point of the story, how he loses his humanity through this experience but I just didn't buy the extent to which he devolves. It didn't completely ruin the movie but it did damper my enjoyment a little.

It's too bad that this movie hasn't gotten more attention. This is a good character piece on top of a solid prison drama and this is easily Waldau's best work outside of Game of Thrones. He works so well in this that to me it's award worthy. Shot Caller isn't boldly new but it absolutely achieved what it wants to and although it sidesteps some of the issues, it still hits hard. I'd absolutely recommend this to anyone who's interested in it.

"Shot Caller" seems to be an awkward title for a movie, but the story eventually gets to the point where it's explained well enough. This is a gritty crime and prison drama following a former businessman's descent into depravity upon receiving a jail term for a DUI resulting in the death of a friend. Forced to conform to a jailhouse code of conduct, Jacob 'Money' Harlon (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) becomes an instrumental link in a plot to sell illegal assault weapons confiscated by a former soldier during the Iraq War. Harlon walks a tightrope between a massive prison inmate nicknamed The Beast (Holt McCallany), and parole officer Ed Kutcher (Omari Hardwick), who's intent is to bring down the gang involved in the weapons deal. The story utilizes multiple flashbacks to Harlon's former family life, and the non-linear format is made a bit easier to follow with the obvious changes in his appearance in the appropriate segments. There are times in the story where you might be as conflicted about Harlon's behavior as that of Kutcher, but when things settle out, you realize that everything he's done as a lawbreaker was meant to keep his family safe, even through a forced estrangement with his wife and son. This seemed to me to be a film that could have gone either way in the IMDb ratings system, as it's '7.3' standing as I write this seems pretty favorable. At the same time, it doesn't seem like the kind of movie a casual viewer would tune into with nothing better to do. I liked it, with my first look at actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, not having been a follower of "Game of Thrones".

The movie is really good i expected it to be boring, to get lost in the story quick etc. But it keeps you pumped. Directing is good,actors are great. At some parts i did lose focus and couldn't tell who is who, but i managed to figure it out. Plot twist is great, something you wouldn't expect. I would definitely recommend this movie!

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.

As a matter of fact, I find it hard to watch movies lately. They all seem so commonplace... But this one really kept me going.

Although the ideas are not new, they are brilliantly brought by excellent dialogues, directing and acting.

A male's true role in a common family (wait till you are 50 with grown children to understand) is also depicted here with an interesting angle.

I hate blowing my own horn, but even the plot got me surprised here and there which is not very common.

Not for youngsters, but don't miss it.

Excellent film! Shot Caller has a social message without a social message. There is non violent man entering the penial system leaving a better criminal. Wondering if house arrest would have been better? Shot Caller has a business man who is a family man. A tragic distracted car accident but the protagonist in jail. The harden prisoners watching the new the protagonist. Our protagonist see what happens weak, and we see the primal human animal operate in prison. Survival and looking after his family is the protagonist life. As the film evolves we see him change. From businesses man into the Shot Caller. Well directed, acted and scripted. Netflix had one good movies. Just a story with out any over dramatics. There is the cops, prison guards, and the Aryan nation and the prison. Worth watching. 8 stars.

This is the best film I have seen this year. This story is of a Walter White type individual who goes through a few "situations" while incarcerated for a traffic violation, transforming him from a white collar worker into a prison gang leader. In the end it is all about a man who goes all out to protect his family. Great acting, cinematography, score.