Snitch (2013)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A very feeble attempt at affirmatie action

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

I was thoroughly impressed with Ric Roman Waugh's 'Snitch', but for different reasons than you expect. Inspired by true events like most movies these days, this particular film produces a sense of true fear and hopelessness rather than show cheesy light-hearted inspiring stories that we tend to see in these "true event' stories. And Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson leaves his 'The Rock' name at home and plays a real human being who is in over his head with some real bad guys. Not only that, Johnson proves that his acting ability is worthy of not a WWE Championship, but of an acting award.Prior to the flick starting, I thought and actually discussed with a friend what I thought to get out of this film as the trailers portrayed it more as an action vehicle for 'The Rock'. What we all received instead was an amazing story and suspenseful drama about a father, John Matthews (Johnson) who is willing to do anything, and I mean anything to put a stop to his son Jason (Rafi Gavron) from serving a decade in federal prison under the mandatory-sentencing laws for first time drug offenders, which is a law that much of the population has a problem with. And what makes this incredibly tense and real is how Matthews goes about getting involved with vicious gangs and even a Mexican cartel.'Snitch' is taken from an actual news report that focuses on an actual law that procures a reduced sentence in prison for the convict for information leading to the arrest of other drug dealers and suppliers. Justin Haythe's screenplay takes on the legality of this law and dives deep into the struggles of the characters and the tough decisions they make , rather than show a muscular guy who goes around offing bad guys, as we've seen so many times before.Matthew's son, Jason, from a previous marriage is arrested by the DEA for, against his better judgment, accepting a package from the postal service full of Ecstasy for a friend as a favor. There is enough ecstasy in the package to make thousands and thousands of dollars. However, it was a setup and as soon as Jason opens the box to see what is in it, he is taken to prison and sentenced to ten years. Never doing anything like this before and not even having a speeding ticket, the DEA is trying to get him to rat out people he knows in return for a shorter prison sentence, but Jason really doesn't know anyone in the drug game at all.Matthews, who is a successful businessman who owns a big shipping and cement company, and has a new family now. And seeing no other option, he phones a few friends who have connections to U.S. Attorney Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon), who seems to be willing to do anything to keep her political power. Keeghan slowly agrees to allow Matthews help catch drug dealers in return for his son getting out of prison.Things don't work so smoothly at first, but Matthews takes in one of his employees by the name of Daniel Cruz (Jon Bernthal), who is a two timer on drug distribution charges, but is on the straight and narrow now, getting his life turned around for his family, and pushes Daniel to introduce him to some of his former associates in the drug game. This leads to a meeting with big time criminal Malik (Michael Kenneth Williams), who after some suspenseful examinations, hires Matthews and Daniel to make a big drug run across state lines, using Matthew's 18-wheelers. Low and behold, the first action sequence takes place after an hour into the film where our duo comes across a big Mexican Drug cartel led by Juan Carlos (Benjamin Bratt). In an undercover operation to take down Malik, Keeghan and under-cover DEA agent Cooper (Barry Pepper) decide to take down the cartel instead, which puts Matthews and Daniel into a much more dangerous situation now, as this is the only way he can free his son.'Snitch' caught me off guard for sure as I expected another run-of-the-mill action movie for 'The Rock'. However, Johnson never delivers a punch nor a kick in this movie as he is playing a regular average guy who is struggling not only the fact that his only son might spend the next ten years in jail, but that his divorce from his ex- wife and his absence from his son's life has caused all of this. I've always seen Johnson's charm and wit in every performance he has done, but with this, he shows great range into his dramatic ability as an actor. It was truly amazing and I think now, he can move onto the dramatic side of film.The rest of the cast does a decent job, but feels underused in most places as they don't have enough screen time. That's not the case with Michael Kenneth Willams though. Every time he is off screen, I found myself wanting him to be on screen more. He just brings so much life and character to each role he plays, and even though he's bad guy in the movie, you root for him, just like we did in 'The Wire' and 'Boardwalk Empire'. And with Waugh being a stunt coordinator, the climactic vehicle chase is done very well with some tense and great cinematic moments as well as his camera-work with the actors which ups their suspense and keeps us interested in the next scene. 'Snitch' was not what I was expecting, but was far better than anything I could have hoped for. Don't miss 'Snitch'.

I like the general themes of the movie...The guy is trying to save his son, The prosecutor is trying to further her career, the lead agent is doing whatever it takes to catch the bad guys, and the kid refuses to snitch on his friends just because he got snitched on.But the legal implications in this movie are ludicrous:1) If I sign for a package, I can go to prison? What if the kid's mom had been at home, and had signed for the package? In the movie dialogue, the kid told the guy he didn't want to accept the package.Using that logic, every FedEx driver who has ever unknowingly had a package on his truck that contained drugs, is a drug dealer.I sign for packages all the time. That just means that I am the designated recipient of the package and am relieving the carrier of any liability regarding delivery and damage. Usually, the package is a Christmas or Birthday gift of some sort. So... if the package contains a stockpile of drugs... all of a sudden, I'm a drug dealer? Come on! If that's the case... so long, all of those emergency medical shipments. I'm not signing for any blood test results or a delivery of any much-needed meds, if there's a chance something might be "hitching a ride" inside the box.2) Susan Sarandon's character is a ridiculous caricature of a human that is completely devoid of all emotion. The first thing that I would have done would have been to buy some drugs on the street, ship them to her, and had the cops standing by when she signed for the package. Just put on the Waybill that the package is from the Department of Justice. She'll sign for it. The situation in the film is clearly a case of entrapment, whether the government initiated it or not. Arrest the delivery guy, too... That's participation in the transportation of illegal drugs across state and international borders.3) A civilian is allowed to participate in a sanctioned operation ferrying massive amounts of drugs and cash internationally? Come on! Not even close to being legal. What happens if he, in a foreign country, shoots and kills a Police Officer (maybe corrupt) in that country, and then shouts, "I was working for the U.S. Government!" ? What would have happened if he had an allergic reaction when the dude made him snort the Cocaine, and he died right there? His young accomplice would only have to walk up to Channel 3 and say, "I've got a story that will get a Federal Prosecutor and at least 4 agents fired!"4) Even the guy himself, after his son was set free, could just walk up to Channel 3 and say, "Here's the story... With no legal authority whatsoever, I was allowed to carry drugs and illegal cash interstate and internationally. I was never deputized or authorized in any official capacity to act on behalf of the U.S. government. I acted in a totally illegal capacity, under threat of blackmail by your prosecutor and this lead agent, after they reneged on our first illegal deal.Oh... And by the way... Your prosecutor illegally reduced the sentence of my son. There is no provision for his father to act in any capacity to reduce his sentence.-----------The legal holes in the this film are gaping. The story went too far in trying to prove that the rigid anti-drug laws are unfair. I get the point, but the story just went too far. It's not believable.

Dwaynne Johnson is doing a lot of good for the public in general in making this true story movie! he's a very good actor. years ago, me and my family got out of our car at Wendy's restaurant on poplar ave. here in Memphis. on the weekend. up pulled an old car filled with big men. they were wrestlers. they were all polite, kind, friendly. never, ever threw their weight around. i was very, very impressed! so was my whole family. we liked them. i was in line at the Germantown Kroger several years ago, and, the wrestler Jerry Lawler was ahead of me. he was a gentleman. kind. easy going. i learned a lot from this movie that i did not know about the drug laws. every teenager in America needs to see this movie. every parent of children in America needs to see this movie. lawman Buford Pusser was a wrestler before he became a sheriff in Mcnairy county Tennessee years ago. remember him? he had strength of character! i always liked Dwaynne Johnson as a wrestler back in the 1990's! "i've always enjoyed, admired, and stood in utter amazement with people in the entertainment industry. movie stars. singers. actors. actresses.

Story: Following one man as he risks everything to save his son, we see it isn't just his life, his son's life it also will risk his new wife's life and daughter as he goes undercover. We get to see how a rookie drug mule ends up tricking some of the biggest names in drug dealing. It fails to offer anything new to the genre it does offer an insight to a based on true events. Everything turns out to be very simple to watch that plays out smart without challenging the audience too much. (8/10)Actor ReviewsDwayne Johnson: John small time truck transportation business owner who risks everything to make sure his son gets off prison after being wrongly framed as a distributor. Good performance from Dwayne showing that he can perform in a much more serious role. (8/10)Barry Pepper: Agent Cooper the lead agent trying to take down the drug lords. Good performance from Pepper who creates an unrecognizable character. (7/10)Jon Bernthal: Daniel the reluctant ex-con who helps John enters the criminal underworld. Trying to save himself from his past he ends up making everything more risky for himself by helping. Jon gives a good Susan Sarandon: Joanne the DEA who will help John but only when she gets what she wants. Good performance from Susan who never needed to push herself. (7/10)Director Review: Ric Roman Waugh – Good direction putting together a well-paced film. (8/10)Action: Simple action sequences that work well with the timing of the story. (7/10)Thriller: Creates a tense build up to the final moments. (8/10)Settings: The settings are the usual for the genre and don't make any special memorable ones. (7/10)Suggestion: This is something to try, it is a well-paced film that will entertain the thriller fans out there. (Try It)Best Part: The final chase.Worst Part: It is a bit slow.Action Scene Of The Film: The final chaseBelievability: Based on a true story. (8/10)Chances of Tears: No (0/10)Chances of Sequel: NoPost Credits Scene: NoOscar Chances: NoBox Office: $42,930,462Budget: $15 MillionRuntime: 1 Hour 52 MinutesTagline: How far would you go to save your son?Overall: Good action thrillerCheck out more reviews on http://moviesreview101.com/