Sorry for the lag time between posts. I don't mean to keep putting this on the proverbial back-burner, but life is hectic at the moment. Work wants me 24/7/365 and so does my family and my Church. Sadly, I only have so many hours in the day before my body says "Nah ah."
So here's what I gots for you fine folks today...
Snitch
Starring Dwayne Johnson, Jon Bernthal, and Susan Sarandon
Overview - John Matthews (Johnson) has a son who is a good boy. One day his son's online friend sends him a package that winds up having drugs in it and he gets arrested for distribution of narcotics. His buddy narced him out and the only way out is to turn in another drug dealer. Since he was wrongfully accused, he has no connections. The only way to earn his freedom is for his father to go into the underground world of drugs to find a dealer and turn him in.
Review - Dwayne Johnson was born to be an action star. I truly believe he can be every bit as good as an Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, John Claude Van Dam, or Sylvester Stallone. Not only can he perform heart-pounding stunts, but he could charm the pants off a rhino. Though I pray he never falls into a scenario where that needs to be proven. His character and story are a little on the "hard to believe" side, but we'll just ignore that for now, because of how good the overall film turned out. Ever since he started as Rocky Johnson in the up-n-coming WWF, I had a feeling he was going to set a standard in one way or another. When he jumped into the movies with "The Rundown" in 2003 I was instantly excited about any movie he put forth. Well.....anything accept "Tooth Fairy"....or "The Game Plan"....and "Journey 2"...and "Race to Which Mountain"...but other than that, sure!
I am always nervous when it comes to movies dealing with the underground, drugs, guns, dealers, etc. because they all seem to play off the same stereotypical portrayal of the "king pins". Dopey looking lowlifes who think they're all that, but they're actually pawns for a bigger fish. Not to mention always very easily fooled by anyone who just wanders in off the streets claiming not to be a cop. Especially since this movie was based on the real-life story of James Settembrino who helped prosecutors take down drug lords in exchange for a lesser sentence for his son. Overall they portrayed the dealers well. Yes there's a dealer who's not as powerful as a bigger dealer, but he's self-aware. Yes they all tote guns and look tough, but it just.....feels different. I can not describe how, it just feels different. I took some major issue with them casting Benjamin Bratt ("Miss Congeniality") as the villain, because he looks like the most literal representation of a man-whore. But I am willing to overlook that due to the fact that he's not overly involved in the bulk of the story. More of an observer and a dispatcher.
A friend of mine watched it and commented on how ironic it was that The Rock would have such a wiener of a son (he acts very emotional and fragile throughout the film). At first I agreed with him, but a piece of the back story is that his parents are divorced, and his mom babys him (there's a sermon in there somewhere). "momma don't let your babies grow up to be cowboys" but don't let em grow up as narcissistic little snots either. What I liked the most is how his father snapped into action when his son was arrested. In today's world, where our motto seems to be "it's all about me", it's inspiring to see a man be a MAN and simply stand up and do what's right. Even at great personal cost. What?! You mean, to help the homeless, I have to wake up before noon? Forget the homeless, I still have 5 episodes of "The Walking Dead" to watch. If I don't get caught up, I won't know what my lazy coworkers, who likely have a life-time membership to Comic-Con, are complaining about on Monday.
Susan Sarandon is Susan Sarandon. She pretty much has 1 character she plays in all her films, but she does it well. Barry Pepper was the surprise for me. He's had smaller roles in movies like "True Grit", "The Green Mile", and "Saving Private Ryan" so I didn't expect much from him. He plays an undercover cop, and plays it very well. Kudos to you my friend (He's not my friend. Just so we're clear. You looked confused). Jon Bernthal, from the aforementioned "Walking Dead" TV series lands his first feature film alongside Dwayne Johnson. I'd say that earns you some bragging rights. He does a great job portraying a guy who fell on hard times and just wants the best for his family. I'm excited to see what this guy turns out in the future.
The writing was decent. There were a few lines that fell flat in this one, but what I really was surprised by was the lack of action. In other movies with Mr. Johnson we would see him knock down walls, beat up folks with a 2X4, and .... collect children's teeth. However, in this movie, he plays more of a dad who wants to save his son. He doesn't do any crazy stunts, like lifting a car over his head or breaking a gun in half with his eyebrows. It showed me he's more than biceps with a mouth. Ric Roman Waugh (director) was a writer for the 1990 "Total Recall" and a stunt man in "Hook" (1991). He hasn't done much that's really memorable so I was quite nervous to see him helm a big feature on his own. It can not be argued that he can communicate a good story, and I hope it doesn't wind up being a one-off. He an Dwayne made a good team, and I think we will be seeing more from that duo.
Overall I'll give this one a generous 3 out of 5. I love Dwayne Johnson, and I thought the movie was done very well, I just don't know that I would go out of my way to add it to my bluray collection. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good story of how a man can take the proverbial "Bull by the horns" and come through for his family.
C'mon, email me some suggestions at entertaindave@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter @entertaindave
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