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Released on February 22, 2013 - this crime thriller from director Ric Roman Waugh was
a modest surprise at the box office, taking home over 30 million. The extremely busy Dwanye
Johnson stars as contraction manager, and helpless father: after his troubled son, played
by Rafi Gavron, finds himself in jail on trumped up drug charges. In a weird, and unrealistic
plot device: Johnson volunteers to go undercover inside the dangerous world of drug smuggling...
as apparently, delivering a bigger criminal is the only way to free his son from his violent
prison sentence. The convoluted backstory sets up your basic undercover plot, allowing
for easy, but effective tension in many of the film's best scenes. It's an interesting
story, but it works because the characters are real people with true problems, and desires.
The PG-13 adventure moves slowly from one gritty location to another, including a particular
exhilarating sequence when Johnson and his partner find themselves pinned down by enemy
gun-fire following a drug exchange gone wrong. Much like his character in the picture, Johnson
his decidedly outside his wheelhouse for this role: which is what makes his pitch-perfect
performance all the more powerful, especially when he confesses to his locked-up son, "you're
the one teaching me what real character and integrity is all about". The "average dad"
turned drug-smuggler is what makes the tired undercover plot so refreshing: although he's
six feet tall, Johnson isn't a trained killer or secret operative: just a desperate father
who's run out of options. Sure, he still kicks *** and shoots a shotgun - but the majority
of this 112 minute movie sees him delivering emotional lines of dialogue opposite the equally
talented cast around him, that includes Susan Sarandon, Barry Pepper, and Jon Bernthal.
The passively accomplished cinematography and editing keep things from getting distracting,
while still maintaining a gritty atmosphere to the proceedings - even though the middle
portion runs long, feeling a bit thin. Frequently, the tension will crescendo... only to reset,
and begin anew in the very next scene. It's this uneven pacing that hurts the film the
most. The predictable plot never offers anything new or groundbreaking, but it never truly
falters either. With lesser efforts, and a weaker script: this run-of-the-mill film could
have easily been a cheesy made-for-TV movie, but thanks to strong performances, sharp dialogue,
and a decently fun action-packed climax, it's a welcome adventure. "Snitch", "Johnson excels
in refreshing drama." Well, those are my thoughts - now lets check out what you had to say in
the YouTube comments.
The rate-o-matic for "Snitch"... a SEVEN and a SIX. Your reviews of Johnson's more serious
turn were mixed, and several critiqued the ending. Overall though, you thought it was
a smart, slow-moving thriller, rating it COOL. It was wonderful to see "The Rock" turn in
a great performance here, even if the rest of the familiar movie wasn't anything special.
Hopefully it marks a turning point in his successful career. I thought this picture
was GOOD.