The defence The Big-Idea Head
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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Dead Man's Shoes
Drama · Thriller · Crime · 2004
A soldier returns to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his disabled brother while he was away.
Movie details
Dead Man's Shoes
“He's in all of us.”
2004 Drama · Thriller · Crime 1h 30m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.1 / 10
Community rating
A soldier returns to his small town and exacts a deadly revenge on the thugs who tormented his disabled brother while he was away.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over Dead Man's Shoes?
For the defence
The Big-Idea Head
“You watch with your brain, not your gut.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Menace II Society
Drama · 1993
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Bully
Crime · 2001
A group of teenagers in South Florida enact a murder plot against their mutual bully, Bobby, who has emotionally, physically, and sexually abused them for years.
Coffy
Crime · 1973
After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.
Brimstone
Thriller · 2016
In the menacing inferno of the old North-American West, Liz is a genuine survivor who is hunted by a vengeful preacher for a crime she didn’t commit.
Unthinkable
Drama · 2010
The government gets wind of a plot to destroy America involving a trio of nuclear weapons for which the whereabouts are unknown. It's up to a seasoned interrogator and an FBI agent to find out exactly where the nukes are.
The Stanford Prison Experiment
Thriller · 2015
In 1971, Stanford's Professor Philip Zimbardo conducts a controversial psychology experiment in which college students pretend to be either prisoners or guards, but the proceedings soon get out of hand. Based on a true story.
The Punisher: One Last Kill
Action · 2026
As Frank Castle searches for meaning beyond revenge, an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight.
Lockdown
Drama · 2000
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Undisputed II: Last Man Standing
Action · 2006
Heavyweight Champ George "Iceman" Chambers is sent to a Russian jail on trumped-up drug charges. In order to win his freedom he must fight against the jailhouse fighting champ Uri Boyka in a battle to the death. This time he is not fighting for a title, he is fighting for his life!
Snowtown
Crime · 2011
Based on true events, 16 year-old Jamie falls in with his mother's new boyfriend and his crowd of self-appointed neighborhood watchmen, a relationship that leads to a spree of torture and murder.
Where it lives
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
Shane Meadows
Written by
Paddy Considine · Shane Meadows
Paddy Considine
Richard
Toby Kebbell
Anthony
Gary Stretch
Sonny
S
Stuart Wolfenden
Herbie
Neil Bell
Soz
P
Paul Sadot
Tuff
Seamus O'Neill
Big Al
Court is in session
Put Dead Man's Shoes on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.