“Snitch,” released Feb. 22, is a decent, B-movie drama with a couple of nice action pieces mixed in. It was advertised as a straight action film, but shortly after sitting down in the theater it became clear that it was more. Dwayne Johnson (I stopped using “The Rock” because it’s insulting to his acting career) stars as John Matthews, the father of a son whose future is jeopardized when he is set up as a drug dealer. Johnson, of course, will do anything to save his son from a decade in prison including getting involved in the drug business in order to set up high ranking members of drug cartels. The story carries on from there.
Johnson has come a long way since his WWE days and I would say that the only performance of his that would top this is in “Gridiron Gang.” He just fell short of the mark in that his performance could have been more intense. There some dramatic scenes in the film where Johnson argues with his ex-wife and current wife about what to do with his son. He is pretty convincing in the part but one gets the sense that he is holding back. He seems to be yelling several times during the film, but it usually sounds more like he is talking in a loud tone.
Jon Bernthal (“The Walking Dead,” “Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian”) also makes his first feature film appearance post- “Walking Dead” in “Snitch.” Bernthal plays Daniel James, an ex-con who is desperately trying to stay away from the drug game after being recently released from prison. He is inevitably sucked back in due to the insane amount of money Matthews offers him for an introduction into the drug world. Bernthal gives a pretty intense performance and either he lost some of his muscle mass to look more like a scrawny Latino for the role or he just looks really tiny next to Johnson.
The movie itself is nothing to rave about but neither is it something to condemn. It will be a nice film to watch when it comes to television and Netflix as there definitely isn’t a need to rush to see it in theaters. Ric Roman Waugh has created a realistic take on a story based on true events with few big names and a lower budget and that is something to be praised.
“Snitch” is a relatively okay film that can definitely be waited for to come out on DVD. It is well directed and the cast gives pretty good performances all around. It will be remembered fondly when played on TNT and that is how it should be.
By: Andrew Noonan