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Published Feb 8, 2026, 10:22 PM EST
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Tom Hardy has built an entire career out of playing absolute weirdos — and doing it better than almost anyone else. But long before Bane growled, Mad Max glared, or Venom started arguing with himself, Hardy delivered one of his most ferocious performances as real-life outlaw Charles Bronson in Bronson. Now, that film is back — and it’s hitting hard. Since landing on HBO Max, Bronson has been steadily climbing the platform’s Top 10 per FlixPatrol, outperforming comfort-watch staples like The Notebook and closing in on prestige favorites like The Shape of Water. Not bad for a 2008 cult movie about a man who treats prison like a long-term hotel stay.
Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, Bronson is a loosely biographical account of Britain’s most notorious prisoner — not the actor, but the man who legally renamed himself after him. The film tracks Bronson from a violence-prone kid to an adult who spends decades bouncing between prisons and psychiatric institutions, often in solitary confinement. Despite his constant brutality, Bronson insists he’s never killed anyone. What he actually wants is fame. Recognition. To be something. And when fists stop scratching that itch, he turns to art — at least for a while.
Is 'Bronson' Worth Watching?
Collider's Steve Weintraub saw the film at Sundance in 2009, and was blown away by the physicality of Hardy's performance.
"Tom Hardy's work in BRONSON was the standout performance of the festival. You may know him as Handsome Bob in ROCKNROLLA or as Picard's Clone in STAR TREK NEMESIS. If you do, you'd also know he's a scrawny and small guy. He blends into the background of any scene and barely shows up on your radar. Whether or not that effect is intentional is up for debate, but when you walk out of BRONSON only one question will be on your mind:
Where did that come from?! No one thought he had this in him. Well, except for Nicolas Winding Refn, the director of BRONSON and the spectacular PUSHER TRILOGY. It's not just the change in his physical appearance -- he's a large, bulky, and imposing thug in this film -- but his over-the-top and larger-than-life performance. He doesn't just chew the scenery, he destroys it. He's a bull in a China shop. The film is a true story following the most violent prisoner in England's history."
Watch Bronson on HBO Max in America, and stay tuned to Collider for more streaming updates.
Release Date October 9, 2008
Runtime 92 minutes
Director Nicolas Winding Refn
Writers Brock Norman Brock
Producers Allan Niblo, James Richardson, Kate Ogborn, Nick Love, Rupert Preston, Thor Sigurjonsson, Jane Hooks, Rob Morgan, Simon Fawcett, Danny Hansford, Paul Martin, Sean Faughnan, Suzanne Alizart
English (US) ·