Review of Snitch (2013) by Frank C — 26 Jun 2014

A good movie that had the potential to be better. Give the moviemakers credit for trying at least to put some new twists on a formulaic story, but unfortunately, they didn't have that many places to go, and so it winds up being a formula that we've seen many times before.

The story does move, although most of the action in the two hour movie doesn't happen until the last 20 minutes. There are good, not great performances by the supporting cast. But one of the main handcuffs on the movie is that when it is supposed to get emotional, you never feel it.

That's because while Dwayne Johnson continues to make progress in his acting abilities, he still has not mastered one major part: emotion. The tough guy part is something he might as well copyright by now, but whenever there is a chance to show real emotion, all we get is a couple of swallows and temple throbs, and suddenly, The Rock starts to come out again.

This may or may not be something he ever is able to overcome. Until then, the movies that he makes will have to rely on others for pathos, sadness, and genuine emotion that will permeate through the audience.