Don't say anything, but "Snitch" is a clunky, slow action thriller
Cinema in 2011 belonged to Jessica Chastain. 2012 belonged to Channing Tatum. 2013 seems destined to be Dewayne "The Rock" Johnson's year, who appears in six movies this year. First up is "Snitch," a mildly entertaining action thriller with a great cast but a terribly slow start for a film billed as such. The story concerns a father (Johnson) whose teenage son is wrongly accused of a drug distribution crime and is looking at a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years. Desperate to rescue his son, he makes a deal with a U.S. attorney (Susan Sarandon) to work undercover as an informant to infiltrate a drug cartel to risk everything he has to get his son back. After a cumbersome, muddled first act, "Snitch" finally picks up considerable energy in a faster-paced last act. It's a mediocre effort and while the talented supporting cast, including Sarandon, "The Walking Dead's" Jon Bernthal, Benjamin Pratt, Melina Kanakaredes and Barry Pepper, are all solid, even they can't overcome the uneven, predictable script. As for The Rock, his minimal acting abilities and charm are better suited to comedy than drama, and while he can carry a film on his back, "Snitch" would've been much better with someone who can emote a little better (Mark Wahlberg, Johnson's "Pain and Gain" co-star, comes to mind); his attempts to show some sort of emotion can be a little embarrassing. On the plus side, "Snitch" does have some entertaining moments with a breathtaking car/truck chase most memorable, though it's best when the razor sharp Sarandon is on screen; on that note, the movie provides an interesting mash-up: Oscar-winning actress paired with WWE Champion, and we all know who would win that acting match, and it's not The Rock. Modestly entertaining and mostly forgettable, the mediocre "Snitch" is an inauspicious start for someone who will be so ubiquitous in films this year.
Wes's Grade: C
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