Dwayne Johnson is the worst part of the otherwise surprisingly competent Snitch.
Best known as a star of the soap opera that is pro wrestling — and for that big eyebrow — Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island) has become the poster boy for B-movie typecasting in his quest to be the premier action star in cinema.
For most viewers, he’ll always be “The Rock,” “The People’s Champion” of World Wrestling Entertainment, but that hasn’t stopped Johnson from attempting to change people’s perceptions by pursuing his movie career.
Snitch, though entirely imperfect and off-kilter, is the first of at least six different movies set to be released this year starring Johnson, including Fast & Furious 6, G.I. Joe: Retaliation and Michael Bay’s (Transformers: Dark of the Moon) Pain & Gain.
Unlike these big-budget action extravaganzas, Snitch is a small story that relies mostly on acting chops and relatively lazy plot developments to forward a message about sentencing laws for drug convictions in the U.S.
Granted, Snitch isn’t attempting the kind of social discourse to be found in something like Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, but there is a concerted attempt to use plot contrivances to build a pathos-based argument for reducing mandatory minimum sentencing in first-time drug cases.
The plot, supposedly based on true events, begins with John Matthews’ (Johnson) son Jason Collins (Rafi Gavron, The Cold Light of Day) being arrested for drug trafficking, despite the fact that all he did was naively accept a package from a drug-dealer friend of his.
The government offers Jason a reduced sentence if he can rat on other dealers, but when he claims not to know any, John takes matters into his own hands — by going out to capture some high-level drug dealers in a Drug Enforcement Administration sting operation in exchange for his son’s reduced sentence.
As the stakes heat up, John and his families’ (he re-married after a divorce) lives get pushed to the brink of ruin, eventually leading to a final life-or-death sting with everything on the line.
On paper, the plot sounds as generic as they come, but there is more emotional suspense than proper “action” in Snitch. Yes, there’s a gunfight or two, and the film ends with a highway chase involving an 18-wheel truck and cartel gunmen, but these scenarios are short and used sparingly, essentially as brief climaxes to long — and drawn-out — plot developments.
Because of this, Snitch is a more distinctive film than its trailer might suggest. The film has an unrelentingly dark tone that differentiates it from most popcorn films. Once Jason has made his mistake, every character is in a constant state of decay, as if the filmmakers want the audience to know nothing good can come of selling drugs.
Because the focus is on characters rather than action, most of the actors attempt to play the silly plot with straight faces. Susan Sarandon (Cloud Atlas) gives a solid performance as the self-centered U.S. attorney who cuts the plea deal with John, and Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead) nearly steals the show as Daniel James, an ex-con who acts as John’s introduction into the criminal underworld.
Less flatteringly, viscous drug dealer Malik, played by the fantastic Michael Kenneth Williams (Boardwalk Empire), simply feels like a watered down version of The Wire’s infamous Omar Little, a character originally portrayed by Williams himself. Malik works for what he is, but it still feels like cheap typecasting.
The worst, however, is Johnson. Oddly, although there are many cringe-worthy moments, his acting isn’t completely terrible throughout the movie. The real problem is the bleak mood of the movie perpetually going against the undeniably goofy, hyper-masculine Johnson.
No matter what he does, there is an attitude about the muscle-bound protagonist that flies in the face of everything the audience is supposed to understand about Johnson’s character. He is supposed to be the weak, fish-out-of-water type who’s gotten way in over his head, yet he seems to be in control of every situation he encounters.
If another actor had portrayed John, Snitch may have been a better movie.
Snitch, though neither a horrendous mix of cliches nor a shining achievement of any kind, does provide audiences one inarguable truth — Johnson still hasn’t found a way to distinguish himself from “The Rock.”
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