Jason (Rafi Gavron) has friends that do drugs. One of them sends him drugs through the mail, which he was half-heatedly opposed. Jason gets busted as did his friend who turned witness against Jason, claiming he was going to help sell the drugs. Jason is faced with a mandatory 10 year sentence, along with all the other innocent people in prison unless he snitches on everyone he ever smoked a doobie with.Jason refuses and would rather get beat up in prison. Dad (Dwayne Johnson) however has a different idea. He cuts an unorthodox deal the federal prosecutor (Susan Sarandon) that would give Jason a get of of jail free card, if he delivered them a felony conviction. Dad employs the help of an ex-con (Jon Bernthal)in his construction firm to make the contact. As Dwayne gets deeper and further up the food chain, the federal prosecutor wants more.Clearly Dwayne is in way over his head. We really don't feel the peril as much as we should because it is Dwayne Johnson who we have seen out run, out gun, and beat up armies of evil men.The acting was decent, even from the support cast. The plot and dialouge needed some help. The film attempts to show that mandatory sentencing laws are unfair and judges should have more leeway in sentencing, but it doesn't inundate you with the theme so as to interfere with the film.A good semi-family film for Rock fans. One you might want your teen to see. This is another story based on true events. This one is more believable as it doesn't include aliens, ghosts or zombies. The explode on contact cars are still hard to swallow.Parental Guide: No sex or nudity. No spoken F-bombs. A brief F-bomb in graffiti background most people will miss.

Amazing what a good script, on the spot direction and solid supporting actors can do for a movie. Dwayne Johnson, always touted as a wooden action hero delivers a fairly credible performance and so do the rest of the crowd, specially Jon Bernthal, Barry Pepper and Susan Sarandon in a remake of some of her past roles. Not much depth but remember this is supposed to be an action movie; thus, you're in for a pleasant surprise: the action is measured -even subdued- spot-on and very credible. It doesn't require the viewer to switch off the brain.Good guys stay good, bad guys make you fear and hate them, and then they get what should be coming to them. There's well played drama sprinkled in and the movie is tense and gripping throughout. A solid 8/10!

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.

From the beginning, this film moves at the perfect pace. Not too Fast and Furious but not too slow either. Realism is very prevalent in this and Dwayne Johnson's acting is the best I've ever seen it. Very believable, not just him but all the characters involved in the film. The authenticity of the "bad guys" (drug dealers, criminal associates) is not at all over-the-top, the locations of interactions (El Paso) is correct and by all means, for a film based on real life, it definitely comes off as one of the more realistic. Much respect to the actor who played Omar on HBO's "The Wire" for his few and far between scenes. Always a pleasure, either that man has been through some real-life serious sh**t or he's just a really good actor. Anyway, not the best review I've written by any means, but just had to say how impressed I am with this film. In fact, it's the ONLY Dwayne Johnson movie I would call a "film". It's earned that title. Go and see this. It has something for everyone.