Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson goes undercover as a cartel drug runner in order to spring his son from prison in this serious, crime action/drama.
For something as surprisingly straight-faced as this movie is, it turned out to be decently entertaining. I doubt that it will prompt audiences to call out for more dramatic roles for Johnson, but he certainly acquits himself adequately here and provides us with a watchable, entertaining flick.
When young Jason Collins (Rafi Gavron) signs for a package containing a massive quantity of Ecstasy, he finds himself snared in federal sting operation. Due to mandatory minimum sentencing laws, he winds up facing at least ten years in prison… potentially thirty.
His father, John Matthews (Dwayne Johnson) can’t stomach the thought of his son spending that much of his life in jail, so, in desperation, he arranges a personal meeting with the federal prosecutor (Susan Sarandon) in order to discuss some kind of alternative. As she explains the situation, Matthews realizes there’s nothing she will do unless she somehow gets an even bigger drug figure in exchange. Matthews proposes going undercover himself, in his son’s stead, in order to apprehend someone who would satisfy the conditions, but he’s turned down.
Undeterred, he goes ahead with the plan anyways, obtaining a contact into the world of drug smuggling from an employee of his at his shipping company.
Left with no options, the Prosecutor signs off on Matthews plan. If he can implicate a drug dealer with a substantial enough possession charge, she’ll free his son. The one thing they didn’t count on, however, was Matthews doing his job too well. When his initial run leads him all the way to a high level cartel connection, the Prosecutor wants to revise the deal, and the stakes get raised for everyone involved.
The first item of note about “Snitch” is that it is not an action film. Yes, there’s action involved, especially in Matthew’s climactic run, but for the most part, “Snitch” is a serious crime drama. The film establishes the son’s relative innocence, shows how brutal jail would be on him, and shows how hard it would be on The Rock to watch that happen. They also show the home life and backstory of Jon Bernthal’s character, the worker who risks everything to help him make the initial undercover connection. So you’re given the motivations behind what these two men are doing, and given reasons to care about their characters. Once the stakes for the heroes are established, Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar!!) and Benjamin Bratt provide the menace as the drug lords that need to be taken down.
And surprisingly, the film is effective. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of “Yeah, right” opportunities, but those are overcome by a decent cast and a relatively tense story. Johnson does a decent enough job of playing a stand up guy willing to put his life on the line in order to save his son from prison, and he’s helped by excellent supporting players in Jon Bernthal, Michael Kenneth Williams (Omar!!), and Barry Pepper (as an undercover agent who assists). Together they add enough credibility to what could be seen as a thin action movie plot in support of a stretch of a high concept. There are definitely tension filled scenes with Johnson undercover, and a fun (if a bit far-fetched) action finale.
In the end, “Snitch” turned out to be a fun watch, even if it does require some extra suspension of disbelief.
Just can’t bring myself to get excited about any film with The Rock in it man. Just can’t do it. And what the f@#k is Susan Sarandon doing in this?
Ladies’ got to earn a living, I’d imagine.
I dont know if its anything that you should get excited over, Mark, certainly not. But for a low level rental or cable movie or something? Its actually pretty decent.
I second that. I refuse to give The Rock my hard earned cash.
Heh. Hater in the House!
Ha ha! I’m sure I’m not the only one.
I’ve said it before – The Rock can occasionally produce a decent film. “Faster” was outstanding, and it sounds like this might be a similar kind of movie. Not saying this is Oscar material (lol!) but I’ll definitely give it a watch!
You know. I havent gotten around to “Faster” yet, but I imagine if you liked that one you’ll enjoy this one, too. Check it out Livi, it’s really fairly decent.
If nothing else, it’s nice to see Dwayne Johnson doing something that isn’t kiddie-fare.
God, you can say that again. LOL
We’ve got this and Fast 6 this summer, so I think for now the Kiddie stuff is behind him.
I liked that it payed attention to it’s characters and story more than the action, but when the action does come in it feels so stupid and forced. It’s almost like the film makers needed people to be reminded that this was a movie starring the People’s Champion, and yes, he sort of still does kick ass. Even though be barely does any of that here. Nice review buddy old pal!
Thanks Dan, yeah, the action here DEFINITELY isnt the movies strongest selling point, but I thought it was ok. They needed some kind of big set piece to close out the film I suppose.
It wasn’t exactly “Die Hard” though, LOL
Well then. I’m a little more excited for this movie then. I have been waiting for The Rock to get into a more dramatic role and I think this kind of film is his “gateway” to more serious films. Good review, Fogs. Definitely going to rent this bad boy.
A rental sounds like a plan Nick. I imagine when the DVD court adjourns on this one, there’s going to be a lot of “Rentals” on the board.
He did well in Walking Tall which was more serious and not just cheese. I’ll ad this one to my list. He’s one of my favorites!
Another one I havent seen. Maybe I just needed time to take him seriously. LOL
I imagine you’d enjoy this one then too
The Rundown and Faster are both great. I thought he might be the next Sly/Arnold but then he started making kids movies and Stathem kinda took the roll on and is doing a great job. But the last few movies the Rock has done, like Faster, are great. WATCH THEM!
Heh. Yes ma’am!
Saw it with Chris and Alex and I believe all 3 are in agreement with you although Chris said he’s seen better but he’s also seen worse (Sounds like a “MEH”). It was enjoyable and Dwayne did a good job of carrying this film. My only problem is that when some of the drug dealers spoke, I had trouble understanding them. But that may be my hearing. 1 Dwayne Johnson movie down, 3 to go.
Yeah, I think the “slang” they had him using got in the way. The other guys were speaking spanish. LOL
I enjoyed it… I’ll wait til the show to do my TPMP ranking, though.
When The Rock is involved, I usually can get over those “Yeah right” moments. Something about the movies he’s in. But then I haven’t seen all of his movies..so maybe eventually I’ll hit one that I won’t…
Awesome review Fogs!
I’m definitely going to look for this one! Sounds cool
Thanks Kim. I dont want to oversell it or anything, but it was definitely an enjoyable flick. The Rock played the tough guy concerned father well, and the story kept things moving fairly decently. It wasn’t exactly Serpico or anything, but it’ll do in a pinch.
I’ve seen mixed reviews for this, but i am slightly curious about it. I know one blogger who found the combination of serious and actiony didn’t work for him at all.
Yeah, I mean, I can’t go overboard here, myself.
It’s not something I would call must see or anything. But it definitely has its virtues… Even if the action climax does get a little ludicrous.
Agreed, Fogs! I was actually a lot more impressed with this one that I thought I would be and liked this crime drama myself. Great review. summed it up perfectly. really. I liked seeing Barry Pepper in it. one of my fave guys in Saving Private Ryan!
Yeah, Barry Pepper was good, I liked his contribution. It wasn’t the greatest flick or anything, but I was pleasantly surprised, too!
Sounds awesome. I’ll watch any of the (non-Disney) films the Rock’s in, one of those rare people with a charisma / star power! Barry Pepper too, perhaps Hollywood’s most under-rated supporting man.
Can’t wait for this to hit the UK.
Yeah, damn crazy release schedule!
It was ok. I dont know if I want to hype it up too much. I definitely enjoyed it though, and The Rock did a great job in the lead role!
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I saw this as well and i thought it had problems but the Rock was not one of them. I went in expecting it to be bad, i left with a different impression.
Yeah, right? It wasn’t that bad. The Rock was given a part that wasn’t a stretch for him, and he didnt do too bad with it!