'SNITCH'

'SNITCH' (PG-13) (3 STARS)

Written by Ric Roman-Waugh and Justin Haythe
Directed by Ric Roman-Waugh
Actors: Dwayne Johnson, Susan Sarandon, John Bernthal, Barry Pepper, Benjamin Bratt, Rafi Gavron, Melina Kanakredes, Harold Perinneau, Nadine Velasquez.

In the mid 70's my parents took me to a violent and fascinating exploitation movie called "White Line Fever" which was actually PG rated and pushed our buttons. I remember clearly watching the hero's friend getting killed and my family feeling shock and emotion. That little, what we call "B" movie, starred Jan Michael Vincent and it worked because while being a little cheaply made and improbable it still worked well with good action and characters we like. After seeing Dwayne Johnson's "Snitch" I was reminded of that 70's "B movie" classic because the story is improbable with plot holes like that movie and not brain surgery but I liked it a lot and it affected me.

You don't have to be so smart when you write a movie like this but you have to have an engaging lead, taut action and good drama with characters we care about. Dwayne Johnson is in his best movie since "The Rundown" and the best performance of his career so far in movies. Please non Regular Moviegoers do not snicker at me you elitists, Dwayne Johnson can act. I am a little tired of the stigma that goes with pro wrestlers and that wredtling is dumb they are stupid and can't act. It takes a lot of charisma, mike skills and control to do that job in the ring. Dwayne Johnson is very likeable here as John Matthews, a father who has found out his son has made a stupid mistake and accepted a huge drug package in the mail by his dealer friend. The boy is put in jail and faces 10 years in prison unless he snitches on other friends who have used drugs. He won't but his father will as he tracks down, with the help of one of his employees who is an ex con, a major drug dealer and even someone more powerful.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson holds his own against seasoned pros who are also very good here in Susan Sarandon as a prosecutor, Barry Pepper as an undercover cop and Michael Kenneth Williams (The Wire) as a drug dealer. Johnson has always been a very likeable screen presence and a natural action star. He is more successful then other wrestlers into acting (John Cena) because he has the most natural and graceful charm of any action star out there. This is his first full drama and he can handle emotional scenes and action with equal aplomb. The movie is compelling, well acted, effective as drama and an intense action movie. It reminds me of the old movies of the 70's that were crisp, clean, no nonsense and surprised us with characters we rooted for. Like "Snitch" those movies were laughed at but sometimes they got the job done better than the prestige pictures. I also will take "Snitch" over a major criminal act like "A Good Day To Die Hard" anyday!

P.S. Two more things, Susan Sarandon still looks beautiful and very hot as much as she was in 1984 when I had a major crush on her. Second, "Snitch" is a perfect movie for my blog, I am happy that I write a blog that champions the underdog and gives a movie like "Snitch" a fair chance while critics pile on it before they have even seen a single frame.