The first trailer for Dragged Across Concrete shows Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn as a pair of cops who find themselves using their “skills” to “acquire proper compensation” after being suspended from duty for their violent ways. The film is the latest from writer-director Craig Zahler, who has made a name for himself crafting decidedly masculine and violent movies, like the Kurt Russell Western Bone Tomahawk and the grindhouse-y Brawl in Cell Block 99, which also starred Vaughn. 

Dragged Across Concrete looks to be Zahler’s biggest film to date, as it not only includes Gibson and Vaughn in starring roles, but also features appearances from Don Johnson (Django Unchained), Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter), Tory Kittles (Sons of Anarchy), Laurie Holden (The Americans), Fred Melamed (Casual), and Michael Jai White (Arrow). The film is also Zahler’s biggest to date in another sense, as it apparently clocks in at a whopping two hours and thirty-nine minutes, which may be necessary considering the scope of the story as seen in the trailer. 

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In addition to giving audiences an idea of just how hard boiled this story of hard-boiled cops descending into a world of criminality will be, the trailer also supplies a few surprising moments of humor, like when Anthony Lurasetti’s (Vaugn) slow and noisy eating gets commented on by a testy Brett Ridgeman (Gibson), or when a masked man shoots up a snack display on his way out of a convenience store he may have just robbed. Then there’s the music playing over the trailer - which simply needs to be heard. Check out the trailer and the film's poster below: 

“DRAGGED ACROSS CONCRETE follows two police detectives who find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arm tactics is leaked to the media. With little money and no options, the embittered policemen descend into the criminal underworld and find more than they wanted waiting in the shadows.”

Dragged Across Concrete is sure to garner plenty of attention for reasons that go beyond interest in the film itself. In addition to its depiction of violent cops turning to crime to seek compensation, it will also have to deal with the reputation of Gibson, whose recent return to would-be Hollywood blockbusters in Daddy’s Home 2 hasn’t entirely erased the ignominy of the controversies surrounding him.

Nevertheless, the film will likely still be of interest to many given that it’s written and directed by Zahler, who has made a name for himself as a director to keep an eye on with his two most recent movies. If his latest is well received, it might be the start of even bigger things for the filmmaker. 

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Dragged Across Concrete premieres Friday, March 22 in theaters and on VOD.