'Snitch' - The Rock gets real!
Well, despite thoughts to the contrary, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson can actually act! In the thriller 'Snitch' Johnson is a father fighting to free his son from prison after the boy is busted for possession and intention to distribute drugs. Based on true events (which makes it more interesting), the young man faces many hard years in prison which compels the father to cut a deal with an ambitious district attorney up for reelection. How he fulfills the deal is the general and overall exciting premise of the film.
John Matthews (Dwayne Johnson) is the owner of a local trucking company in rural Missouri, divorced from his first wife Sylvie (Melina Kanakaredes) and building a new life with his current wife and young daughter; John is riddled with guilt over his son, Jason (Rafi Gavron), who currently lives with his first wife for not spending enough time with him. So when he learns that Jason has been arrested, he leaps into action to save his son from a life of prison.
John meets with the DA, JoAnne Keegan (Susan Sarandon) to plead his son's case; and although his son was a very unwitting accomplish, Jason's refusal to set-up his friend causes Keegan to take a hard stand and seek the maximum sentence. In a desperate bid to help secure his son's freedom, John offers himself to make a deal with a drug lord by seeking to offer his trucks as a method of smuggling drugs, essentially acting as an undercover agent for the police.
While more than a few moments tend to fall into typical 'Rock' action, for most of the film, Johnson does a pretty good job as the concerned father willing to do whatever it takes to free his son. Opting for more brains and less brawn was a good choice here for the actor, proving finally that he does have some acting talent and can do other things besides non-stop CGI action.
While I was a little disappointed with the ending, it was far too abrupt and did not offer any information on what happened to the real people, 'Snitch' was a passable 2 1/2 star thriller that may mean a brighter acting future for 'The Rock'.