"Snitch" is a film based on a real case...one where the US government seemed to bully a father into becoming an undercover informant! It seems that his son was arrested and threatened with ten years in prison, though everything you see in the film makes it appear this kid was set up and was NOT a drug dealer. Clearly the government was overreaching its power here, though the film makes the case seem not so egregious. Here is why....in the film, the father comes up with the idea of going undercover to infiltrate a drug mob in exchange for leniency with his son. HOWEVER, in reality this arrangement was proposed by the government and it seemed as if they were using extortion to get his cooperation....and the father easily could have gotten himself killed. Why the film would tell the story in a way that makes the prosecutor seem less vicious is confusing.

Up until recently, I was never thrilled with the acting of Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson. However, after seeing a few very good films starring him, I realize that the problem might just be that Johnson chose to appear in some rather mindless films.... AND when he gets better material he rises to the occasion. He really was good her and the story very exciting. I just wish the story had actually stuck closer to real events in this case...but it's still worth watching regardless.

Snitch is a searing indictment against the current drug laws and the fact that the draconian principles behind them. As we see in this film it forces those ensnared to become police informants on friends to get themselves out of a jackpot. Young Rafi Gavron gets himself in such a jackpot as a friend who does deal drugs sets Gavron up beautifully with enough Ecstasy to guarantee at least 10 years in Federal Penitentiary.

Young Gavron can work his way out of his jackpot, but the problem is that other than the kid who set him up, he doesn't know anyone in the illegal drug trade.

Dwayne Johnson is the kid's father and a working man who owns a construction company. He's divorced from Melina Kanakaredes, Gavron's mother and now he's got a second wife and child. Still he sees US Attorney Susan Sarandon and she's small comfort. She's running for elective office and is looking to get some big drug fish as notches on the prosecutorial gun.

So Johnson volunteers to bring in the big fish himself. Now he offers the use of his trucks to be drug couriers. But Sarandon and DEA agent Barry Pepper keep him in the game hoping for a bigger fish. Soon enough its one of the biggest fishes out there, a veritable whale in Mexican cartel leader Benjamin Bratt.

For action fans Snitch will definitely satisfy you. But also Dwayne Johnson creates a real character not a superhero. He's just an average man who is really putting himself in harm's way for his son.

The film reminds me a lot of both versions of 3:10 To Yuma where Van Heflin and Christian Bale are just citizens pressed into some disagreeable action like Johnson for the forces of law and order. There are also elements of the Robert Mitchum classic The Friends Of Eddie Coyle where Mitchum gets caught in the switches between the law and his criminal pals and is forced into the role of informer. The difference is that Mitchum is a petty crook and Johnson's a stand-up guy.

Susan Sarandon will chill you no end as the ambitious US Attorney who knows these laws are foul, but will use them for her own purposes. Also Barry Pepper as the law enforcement professional has some qualms and conscience. But even he's looking for the big bust and is willing to put Johnson on the line for it.

Snitch deals with the federal drug laws, but here in New York we pioneered that with the draconian Rockefeller drug laws. The sooner they're repealed the better, but we have to get through to some politicians who parade their law and order credentials by sponsoring such things.

This is a film both entertaining and informative and a real triumph for Dwayne Johnson.

SNITCH has a decent story at heart but in the end it turns out to be just another star vehicle, this time for actor Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson. I appreciate that this is a thriller that eschews tired action sequences to concentrate on suspenseful storytelling, but for the most part the film-making on display here is distinctly average. Two previously watered-down thrillers I watched with Mark Wahlberg, CONTRABAND and BROKEN CITY, were much, much, better.

Still, there's much worse than SNITCH out there, and if you're a fan of any of the main actors here then you'll probably enjoy it, because this is an actor's film at heart. Johnson is tough and stoic as the lead, but the supporting cast really shines: Susan Sarandon brings energy and vitality to only a few minutes of screen time, while Barry Pepper is an ever-kooky presence. Better still is Jon Bernthal, of THE WALKING DEAD, who brings much of the same brooding intensity to the role as he did as Shane in that TV series. TV fans will be in their element with the additional casting of Michael Kenneth Williams, aka Chalky from BOARDWALK EMPIRE, as a drug dealer. The film itself and the story might be distinctly forgettable, but it's the cast that makes this worthwhile.