13 Dead Men (2003)

Too many fans seem to be blown away

Amateur movie with Big budget

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

This movie takes place in a corrupt prison where the warden is a psycho, the guards are killers and the inmates are used and abused. The plot follows two con men: Caj, a black street thug played by rapper Mystikal and Malachi, played by latino martial arts fighter Ashley Tucker. Caj spends most of his time establishing his dominance by dispensing brutal beatings to the baddest white cons he can find, while Malachi, who won't reveal the location of some stolen diamonds the warden wants, is repeatedly punished by the warden's chief goons -- Torres and the 6'2, 300 lbs muscleman, Crandall.When the guards can't break Malachi, the warden arranges for Caj to use his talent for dealing out pain to make the latino talk. The crowd of cons goes crazy when Malachi arrives for the fight pumped and shirtless, revealing a powerfully sculpted body, while Caj, likewise stripped for action, flaunts his chiseled black physique. They fight to a draw and, later, become friends when Malachi promises Caj a cut of the diamonds.Outside the prison are Santos and his crew who also want the diamonds. Santos is played by action star Lorenzo Lamas. Lamas looks great here, trim and muscular and his fight scenes are crisp and authentic. His plan is to break into the prison, free Malachi and recover the diamonds. Stealthily, they infiltrate the prison, taking out the guards one-by-one until the warden discovers them and sounds the alarm. Crandall finds one of Lamas's crew and, after a savage fight, snaps his neck. Finally, Lamas finds Malachi's cell and frees him and Caj. In an awesome fight with the hulking Crandall, Lamas avenges his dead buddy by using a metal chair to bring down the big man, breaking his neck with a satisfying crack. Payback continues when Caj beats Torres to death and the warden meets his end at the hands of Malachi. Though there are some surprises, the fights tie up all the loose ends.Prison movies are only as good as the guys with the muscle to play the cons and guards. Here Mystikal uses his physicality to dominate the yard; while Tucker lets his body do the talking every time he takes off his shirt. The guards, especially the impressive Crandall, are as badass as the cons. Finally, Lamas proves again why he was always in demand for these action roles.

Malachi (Ashley Tucker), is a professional diamond thief and is falsely convicted for murder and is placed on death row in a very high-security prison. There is a crooked Warden named Kowalski (David Weininger) who wants to obtain these diamonds and runs a prison with a staff that is all corrupt and mistreats all prisoners. Shalena Hughes, (Jay'me) is a female prison guard who becomes interested in Ashley Tucker and feels he is being pick on and beaten on a daily basis. Santos,(Lorenzo Lamas) is Malachi's partner in crime and he finds out the warden is planning to up the date on his execution and has to break him out very quickly. There is plenty of violence and horrible beatings and fights throughout the entire film. This film is really a big bomb, and not worth watching, unless you like the great acting of Mystikal, (Caj) who gives a great supporting role.

I absolutely cannot understand why this movie was as bad as it was. The writer, director, producer, fight coordinator, actors, and anyone else working on this abomination must've been so excited about making a "real" movie, and not a porno that they did not notice the massive suckage that it is. Mystikal is the worst actor in this movie. Crucial scenes that are supposed to develop his character, only work to make him look like a retard. Not once did he ever interact with the others, he just read his lines and cursed a lot. Next was the massive amount of scenes that didn't make sense.1.The Cornbread Scene(what was the purpose!?!!?) 2.During the jailbreak where the Santos(Lorenzo Lamas) breaks out the crazy looking white guy, just because he asked...then that same guy goes on to fight one of Santos' teamates(the big black guy)...why!?!? 3.The "Evil" warden's whore/girlfriend..what is up with their relationship..it looked like for a while that an interesting subplot was going to develop....nope..more confusion.A badly written film, with almost no character development, no background information(you feel like you jump right into the middle of movie), and no rising action(just constant conflict..much of which has nothing to do with the central plot.) I can honestly say that this is the worst movie i've ever seen..and the funniest...CORNBREAD....!!!

Well, I've got no problem with the script, since it's a normal 'good guy in jail' script. But I didn't like something else. Everything! Directed and performed in the worst way it could ever be! The movie has a cheap-porno atmosphere in witch the actors (may God help them become that) perform in a totally unnatural way. Awful! Some actors can be saved though, especially if you think that they had to act in this thing. Resuming : Cheap porno-movie atmosphere, awful acting and directing, lots of violence and dirty talk, cheap chicks and guns. I loved it!