Movie Review: Snitch (2013)

Synopsis: When his 18-year-old son, Jason, is sentenced to a minimum of 10 years in federal prison on a questionable drug possession charge, John Matthews, an owner of a construction company, makes a deal with the federal prosecutor to go undercover and help nab a drug dealer in exchange for a reduced sentence for his son. However, when the deal is changed, and John must now go after an even larger drug lord, he finds his family in danger.

Who's in it? The movie stars Dwayne Johnson, Susan Sarandon, Jon Bernthal, Rafi Gavron, Barry Pepper and Benjamin Bratt.


Review: My wife and I came across this movie on IFC earlier this afternoon and put it on more or less as background noise while we sat on the couch. It turned out to be more interesting than expected, however, and we soon found ourselves almost late for a planned event as a result.

My first impression of this movie was it was the least actiony Dwayne Johnson movie I've ever seen. Other than one gunfight scene about midway through the movie and the very end, he doesn't do a whole lot that's overly exciting. However, interestingly enough, that actually worked to his favor, I think. It gave him a chance to show off his dramatic skills and they were surprisingly good.

The overall plot was also intriguing. In addition to the realistic portrayal of the justice system when it comes to drug offenses, John (Johnson) couldn't really trust anyone. The federal prosecutor (Sarandon) seemed just interested enough in advancing her own political agenda to throw John under the bus. The DEA agent in charge of following him (Pepper) already screwed him over once and his reluctant accomplice (Bernthal) had his own family to protect and could possibly betray him at any minute.

There also didn't seem to be a way out for him either. Even if he managed to get the bad guys in prison, he faced retribution from the drug cartel. Plus, it was only a matter of time before someone figured out he was helping the authorities since there seemed to be a leak at the DEA itself. This kept the movie interesting, especially when John decided to just take matters into his own hands and go off script.

Final Opinion: It wasn't quite what I was expecting but it turned out to be an entertaining movie with a not-so-subtle message regarding America's war on drugs. I'd recommend taking the time to watch it.

My Grade: A

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