BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I’ve not been the biggest supporter of The Rock’s movie career so far. It’s not that I’m not a fan of Dwayne Johnson or that I’m an angry wrestling fan. It’s just a lot of the movies he makes are not my thing. I’m not going to watch a kid’s movie, I don’t get into popcorn action flicks, and “based on true events” movies often come off too cheesy and forced to me. I enjoyed him in the weird movie ‘Southland Tales’ and I know the dude can act. Even the movie genres I don’t like are improved by his presence. There’s just too much to watch and too much to do to settle on subpar personal entertainment. Somehow I found myself sitting in front of one of The Rock’s recent dozen movies, ‘Snitch’. Off the bat I learn that it’s based on true events inspired by a documentary. The plot is pretty fun for an action movie. The Rock plays a well off business owner who is trying to get his life together. Meanwhile his teenage son from a past relationship gets busted by the police for drugs. He goes to prison and there is no way to get him out because he can’t snitch on anyone and has no leverage. The Rock, being a super dad, then gets involved with the underworld of crime just so he can turn over the crooks to the feds in exchange for his son’s freedom. It gets pretty damn intense. Now that I’ve said the plot, you can expect what happens next. Bad guys get messed up, things explode, and obstacles are over came at all costs. A movie like this, especially an inspiring “based on actual events” story, are often going to turn out the same way. Even if there is a “sad ending”, it’ll still leave you “inspired” and feeling good. I won’t lie. This movie does just that. I never for one moment doubted that The Rock would save his son’s butt (figuratively AND literally). The fun was to see how it happens and hopefully get caught up in the experience before the credits roll. I think that was accomplished. The Rock carried what could have been a really cheesy action movie to a respectable and fun experience. The rest of the cast was pretty solid and the casting choices were pretty impressive. I did not expect to see Susan Sarandon , Benjamin Bratt, and Michael Kenneth Williams pop up. All had their roles and did them well. On top of those three awesome stand outs, Barry Pepper, Jon Bernthal, Rafi Gavron, and David Harbour all pop up in the movie. The strong cast, the direction, and the pacing really made it work. I won’t outright recommend it. I’m sure you can find better movies from everyone involved with this out there. But if for some reason you have nothing to watch and it’s there, if it’s on cable or on-demand, or if someone is a really big Rock fan then go for it. If you’re like me, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with it. Pretty decent. B-
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