Shot Caller
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh
A happily-married white-collar professional accidentally commits a crime. Sentenced to prison time, he must adjust and learn the ways of prison life. Throughout this, he struggles to do what's best for his family on the outside. The choices he makes in prison will have major repercussions, both to himself and his family, if he makes the wrong one.
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Shot Caller Ratings & Reviews
- KGM SOSAOctober 8, 2025Shot Caller isn’t just another prison or gangster movie; it’s layered, intricate & unexpectedly artistic. What sets it apart is that it doesn’t follow a clichè hardened lifelong criminal. Instead, our protagonist begins as a completely different man: a decent, well educated, harmless, honest family man with a corporate job, who makes a devastating mistake. One DUI car accident, one life lost & he’s sentenced to prison. From there, his story is less about crime & more about survival. In order not to become a victim, he’s forced to put in work & follow the orders of the prison’s shot callers. What begins as a short sentence stretches into years & in the process, the harmless family man slowly transforms into the yard’s top shot caller himself - a man respected, feared, & utterly changed. What makes this film genius is its artistic dual timeline storytelling. We see both versions of Jacob “Money” simultaneously providing contrast: the scared, reluctant man who doesn’t belong in prison, & the seasoned, ruthless shot caller he eventually becomes. The constant switching back & forth highlights the deep contrast between these two versions of the same person: two men who share nothing but a name & DNA. It’s a brutally honest portrait of how environment, violence & survival can transform a person down to their very core. On top of its layered storytelling, Shot Caller doesn’t hold back on violence. The stabbing scenes in particular are jarringly realistic both visually & sonically. The sound of the blade, the frantic chaos, the sheer rawness; it’s not stylized violence, it’s ugly & confronting. Many viewers will likely find these moments difficult to watch, which makes them all the more effective. Casting is another highlight. Jon Bernthal (The Punisher), Omari Hardwick (Power) & Juan Pablo Raba (Narcos) absolutely shine in their roles, each bringing weight & authenticity to the story. The lead, Nicolaj Coster-Waldau as Jacob “Money,” delivers a strong performance as well; but it’s Bernthal, Hardwick & Raba who steal the spotlight with their brilliance. This film was absolutely fantastic: dark, layered, brutal & thought-provoking. I’d even go as far as to call it genius.
Shot Caller Trivia
Shot Caller was released on July 7, 2017.
Shot Caller was directed by Ric Roman Waugh.
Shot Caller has a runtime of 2h 1m.
Shot Caller was produced by Gary Michael Walters, Ric Roman Waugh, Jonathan King, Michel Litvak.
A happily-married white-collar professional accidentally commits a crime. Sentenced to prison time, he must adjust and learn the ways of prison life. Throughout this, he struggles to do what's best for his family on the outside. The choices he makes in prison will have major repercussions, both to himself and his family, if he makes the wrong one.
The key characters in Shot Caller are Jacob 'Money' Harlon (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), Kutcher (Omari Hardwick), Frank 'Shotgun' (Jon Bernthal).
Shot Caller is rated R.
Shot Caller is a Thriller, Drama, Crime film.
Shot Caller has an audience rating of 8.1 out of 10.
Shot Caller has made $3.4M at the box office.