Snitch - Movie Review

When its noted that a movie is "based on a true story", you should definitely take that as a very loose definition. Sure, Snitch is rooted in fact, but director Ric Roman Waugh also pushes those boundaries quite a bit to turn an interesting story in to what becomes a more thrilling adventure involving drug cartels and highb speed car chases.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson stars as struggling business owner and father John Matthews who looks to take matters into his own hands after his son is wrongfully implicated in a drug trade that could have him facing a minimum 10 year prison sentence. After convincing federal prosecutor Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon) to let him go on an undercover operation in hopes of leading to arrests that e can use to trade for his son's freedom, John finds himself involved in a criminal underworld he may not be able to get himself back out of.

So, the whole time I'm watching this movie, I'm sitting there wondering how much is based on real events and how much was added in to make the movie more entertaining. I almost wish the makers of this film had just said it was a fictional story as I would have had a better time taking in the story that end up getting a little too outrageous to have been 100% accurate compared to the real events.

While the overall idea of the movie is pretty compelling, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Unfortunately its not nearly as exciting as you would hope a movie starring The Rock might be and it doesn't contain nearly enough drama or intensity to out it over the top as something you might remember a week after you see it...if you see it.

Snitch is a decent movie and will help in adding to Mr. Johnson's body of work as a well intended action star, but it won't be ranked as one of his best. There's just not enough for him to do and his larger than life persona seems out of place until the movie's conclusion when the high speed chases and shotguns finally make an appearance. I won't say you shouldn't watch this movie, but there are probably better options out there to spend you hard earned money on.