Snitch

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Barry Pepper, Jon Bernthal, Susan Sarandon, Michael K. Williams, Benjamin Bratt, Harold Perrineau
Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama, Thriller
2013

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A father (Dwayne Johnson) reluctantly goes undercover for the DEA to decrease the amount of jail time his son has to face for drug trafficking.

Review:

Tim: I am really surprised that I enjoyed Snitch. I've been a fan of Dwayne Johnson since his days in the WWF as The Rock, but I have to admit, he's made a lot of bad movies over the years. I've always thought he was this larger-than-life presence and usually enjoyed his performances, but the movies he chose to make were pretty bad. Fortunately, Snitch represents a solid, entertaining film, and it's one that entertained me.

The whole "inspired by a true story" thing was pretty ridiculous- I don't know all the details, but I believe this is a very loose affiliation. So much of what happens in this film is pure Hollywood entertainment, and wouldn't happen in real life. This didn't detract a great deal from the movie for me, but I dislike when movies try to make it seem like the events of the film really happened, when in reality, most of the film is made up. Just be honest with me, movies!

I thought Dwayne Johnson actually gave a really strong performance. He's not a bad actor, and he was able to give a more restrained, nuanced performance here. I believed him in this ordinary guy role- while he has more muscles than 99.9% of all "ordinary" guys in the world, he still embodies that working man mentality. I really felt like he was an average guy caught up in extraordinary circumstances, which is always fun to see depicted on screen. This wasn't an action hero killing the bad guys for fun, this was a father willing to sacrifice everything for his son. Johnson played the part exceptionally well- I was never aware of him "acting", I just got caught up in his character. I loved seeing Jon Bernthal here, and he worked really well with Johnson. I sincerely hope Bernthal's career continues to develop. Susan Sarandon was well cast as a tough DA who isn't afraid to put her own career above others' safety. Barry Pepper is awesome, and I loved that he was in this film. He gives a good supporting performance. Michael K. Williams was good as a lower level drug dealer, and I liked Benjamin Bratt in a small role as well. Outside of Saradon, the women in this film were given nothing to do, so it's no surprise that there aren't any real standouts.

This film features a fairly straightforward story, but there's some fun expected twists and some intense, thrilling moments. I never loved any part of this film, but I admit I got caught up in the story and was slightly anxious to see how it would turn out. It's an interesting story that teaches you a bit about the minimum sentence laws and how they are designed to get drug dealers to snitch on their friends. It's also a somewhat powerful story about a father willing to go to extraordinary lengths to save his son. Johnson has certainly made some poor career choices, but Snitch is not one of them. I enjoyed this film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Walking Tall, Faster