The Rock is a softie

Just because Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is headlining a film that contains the plot of drug-trafficking, doesn’t automatically turn this into an action-packed ride. Which is a great surprise, since Johnson is taken out of his usual comfort zone, and his role here actually requires him to show a range of emotions to sell this story that is based on true events. And it’s certainly a change in gear that he handles extremely well, as with Snitch, Johnson shows that he has more to offer than his macho side throwing punches.

As an owner of a construction business, John (Johnson) is leading a quiet life and he wants to keep it this way. This is until his son Jason (Rafi Gavron) makes the mistake of getting mixed up with the wrong crowd and ultimately, drug smuggling. After his arrest, the minimum-sentence law states that faces ten years in jail – seems harsh, but that’s what the local US Attorney Joanne Keeghan (Susan Sarandon) and her tough anti-drug stance is insisting takes place, no exceptions allowed. The way to reduce sentencing is for Jason to assist in making significant arrests of big players in the drug scene. But he refuses to be an informer – so his father volunteers his services. He will go undercover, make some deals that will hopefully end in arrests big enough for the US Attorney to be more lenient.

Perhaps The Rock could be seen as a bit of a miscast here – anyone who messes with The Rock’s family in any standard action vehicle would have around an hour or so before he comes violently knocking. But here, John is an utterly ordinary businessman, with very little skills required to lead a one-man army. In fact we even see the mighty Rock get beaten down by a group of thugs as he unwisely tries to enter the drug world by himself, not knowing what to say and who to approach. Help is at hand however, as John reaches out to an ex-convict employee of his who has a history of drug dealing. Wanting to stay clean, start over, and avoid his third strike, Daniel (Jon Bernthal) reluctantly agrees, not fully aware of John’s true intentions. John will also receive tactical support from Agent Cooper (Barry Pepper), and so the dangerous assignment begins.

Essentially the message that is repeatedly used throughout is the fact that fathers are willing to do anything for the benefit of their families. And we see several examples of fathers doing whatever is necessary – the most obvious one here is John, Daniel also has a son and wife to support, the same goes for the drug kingpin they’re trying to take down, Juan Carlos “El Topo” Pintera (a very well-cast Benjamin Bratt). Very little time is spent on Pintera, the antagonist, and it’s all about the “good” guys put in impossible situations, getting in way over their heads.

There are tonal inconsistencies largely due to the film not quite being able to balance the thriller side to the more grounded drama aspect. It’s better in giving us the tense excitement even with a relatively tight budget – the inevitable final highway chase involving a shootout is on a small scale, with very little gimmick and yet is able to deliver some quality action. The many stand-offs between the good guys and bad also have effective input in working towards a climax, more so since we’ve already seen just how vulnerable John is in this unpredictable criminal world.

Less well done is the film’s focus on the individual characters themselves. Even though the ensemble doesn’t look at all crowded, the film struggles to throw in a variety and the running theme becomes very tiresome and repetitive. Yes, yes, the fathers are doing this amazing thing, but what we don’t need is a constant reminder of the struggling children who we start to feel less and less sorry for the more we see them take up the screen time.

More frustrating is the underuse of the most talented member in the cast, Sarandon. With a potentially juicy role as an ambitious, cut-throat political ladder climber who is initially solely investedin this for her gain, she barely features on the screen. Granted, whenever she does turn up she has some ice-cold dialogue to spit out, but given the talent she possesses, this is no doubt a role that is far too simple and underdeveloped, given how much time is given to other less important players.

Overall it’s a film full of pleasant surprises. Most noticeable is Johnson’s transformation and that he doesn’t look out of place in a role that shows a lot more weakness. This goes to show he’s far from the action star one-trick pony we all thought he was, and to witness that alone is worth the film’s running time.