I was initially annoyed with the character that Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson portrays in the new action movie Snitch. After all, viewers familiar with Johnson understand how intimidating he can be with his considerable physical presence. While Johnson, who is now in middle age, still looks to be in terrific shape, his character, John Matthews, does not possess the tough, in control demeanor that viewers might expect. Perhaps it is because John's son, Jason (Rafi Gavron), has been arrested for drug possession and faces a minimum mandatory ten year prison sentence, or maybe director Ric Roman Waugh wanted to try to expand Johnson's acting range. An early scene featuring John's attempt to locate a drug dealer goes terribly wrong, as four youths lay the smackdown on him and make John think twice about entering their dangerous world. Say it isn't so!
Yes, Johnson portrays John as vulnerable and even scared at times. That does not make viewers like him any less and some might even relate to his plight as a concerned parent who will literally do anything to help his troubled child. In John's case, he offers to help the local district attorney, Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon), bring down a drug cartel in exchange for Jason's freedom. Since the film is based on true events, I accepted this plot twist to be reasonable. John is assigned to work with Agent Cooper (no, not the one from Twin Peaks), who is portrayed by Barry Pepper, to infiltrate the operation of a local drug dealer, Malik (Micheal Kenneth Williams) who has ties to a drug cartel figure, "El Topo" Pintera (Benjamin Bratt).
John, who owns a construction company, has access to freight trucks that can transport the drugs and he must make an initial run to gain Malik's confidence. John asks an employee, Daniel (Jay Bernthal), who served time for drug related offenses, to work with him and, after being offered a substantial amount of money, Daniel reluctantly agrees. Meanwhile, Jason, who is being held in jail, is receiving regular beatings from the other inmates, which makes John even more anxious to bring down Malik and Pintera.
Snitch is an entertaining and generally well acted film. However, it takes forever for the inevitable final act to get started. While I appreciate the attempt to build suspense and the attention to detail, just get to the point already. There is no reason for Snitch to be nearly two hours long. I was also less than enthusiastic about the sometimes cringe worthy dialogue uttered by Malik's henchmen, who are more ridiculous than intimidating or realistic. Despite its shortcomings, Snitch has something interesting to say about current drug laws that may give viewers pause. That sets it apart from other contemporary action films and adds an unexpected layer to the overall product, which is better than you might expect.
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