Sylvester Stallone always gets a bad rap for his films, not sure why? I've been checking out some of his older stuff recently and this is one of the good ones. Its from 89, so you immediately have to excuse some of the cheese that comes from movies out of that era but the plot is strong (if unoriginal) and the acting more than decent especially from Donald Sutherland as the sadistic and bloodthirsty prison warden and a(very thin) Tom Sizemore in an early role. Frank McRae & Sonny Landham also impress and there is a brief sighting from Danny Trejo as "gang member." Its classic Stallone though, he always manages to put a spin on his tough guy characters so that you feel sympathy and genuinely care about them. The story is entertaining and pretty much delivers what you'd expect from a prison film including here football games in the mud, and a montage while the guys work on a muscle car in the garage -strangely reminding me of 'Grease'.I liked Stallone's character in this, he plays Frank Leone; a minimum security nice guy just trying to finish his time and go home to his girlfriend. He has just weeks left before being released when he's suddenly moved to a maximum security hellhole. This prison is run by warden Drumgoole who wants revenge because Frank was the only man to ever escape which resulted in his demotion (Frank needed to attend a funeral).Drumgoole proceeds to make Frank's last few weeks a living hell, "This is hell, and I'm going to give you the guided tour" pushing him to the limits and having his sadistic guards torture him. When Frank won't break (despite time in the hole, getting shanked and encounters with fellow prisoner Chink Weber) Drumgoole arranges for him to learn that his girlfriend is about to be raped on the outside, causing Frank to plot his escape once more.Stallone seems to have a penchant for doing movies where his character goes to prison. Not sure what that's all about but look at this list; Tango and Cash, Escape to Victory, First Blood, First Blood part2, Judge Dredd, Demolition Man, Escape.

Frank Leone (Sylvester Stallone) is in minimum security lock up with 6 months left and even allowed out into the world with Melissa (Darlanne Fluegel). He gets transferred to maximum security Gateway by vindictive warden Drumgoole (Donald Sutherland). He had escaped Drumgoole's prison before and made him a laughing stock. Captain Meissner (John Amos) is his hardnosed guard. Guard Braden is more by the book. Dallas (Tom Sizemore) is an overly helpful prisoner. Eclipse manages the motorpool. Prison strongman Chink Weber is gunning for Frank.The setup is questionable. I don't get how a guy who escaped once could possibly be slated for release. The only way is to do a deal with the D.A. probably as a whistleblower against Drumgoole. The short exchange in the movie seems to suggest that and then the question becomes how does Drumgoole still have a job? The explanation for Frank's situation is so short that it feels like the movie would rather ignore it.The movie is trying to be gritty but parts of it seems wrong. At times, this feels more like a Rocky movie. There's even a musical montage of them fixing up a hot rod. It's completely out of place. There are other moments like teaching First Base how to drive. Again it's trying to be heart warming which is ill-fitting for the premise. Some of it works better but there are too many situations that don't match the expected tense grittiness. The dialog is also wrong. First Base actually uses the word 'jive'. The movie has a few too many clunky things going on.

Like Shawshank, but less touching and more muscles and darker.It hits the right notes, but the warden seems a bit too sadistic. How could such a tyrant ever get to be in a position of authority in cahoots with a whole bunch of guards and prisoners without ever being found out? This makes the whole thing seem a bit far fetched, which it is, but hey, that's entertainment.Otherwise a good ride. The ending could have been better - he should have broken back into his cell instead and gone "Huh? What's all the fuss about?". That would have been more awesome than the over the top scene at the end which would have landed him with a few more years jail time in reality!Probably Sly's best. But that ain't saying much.

Great prison drama with an friendship theme if you want to know it is about a man who gets put into prison when a bully gives him crap that involves a great ending , dialouge is good but the acting gets cheesy in places but it is a fun film that you can enjoy like i say great sound and visceral, this is a better Stallone film. 7.0 out of 10.0 good / excellent entertainment , lacks with brilliance and is dull in moments. Stallone has done way better but this you can like i was surprised to see a great drama Stallone rules.Don't expect brilliant expect character depth and friendship elements.Any way buy this its very well made and is very good to watch as it is great.