Feature

Snitch

A desperate father tries to take down a drug ring.

Directed by Ric Roman Waugh
(PG-13)

**

Snitch is not your typical Dwayne Johnson movie,” said Michael O’Sullivan in The Washington Post. The actor and former pro wrestler typically anchors family comedies or action pictures, but in this serious-minded drug-war drama, he plays a caring father trying to save his son from a long prison term, and we see him “doing everything in his power to seem like the clueless family man” he’s meant to be. “But Johnson’s screen presence, however charismatic, is out of sync with the rest of the picture,” said Stephen Holden in The New York Times. “With his booming superhero voice and hulking physique,” he’s just not convincing as a civilian who finds himself badly outgunned when he volunteers to go undercover for a prosecutor eager to take down a drug cartel. To me, he’s “terrific,” offering “a far more nuanced performance” than in any previous film, said Claudia Puig in USA Today. Snitch “lags somewhat” between its action-packed opening and closing, but its strength is still in its dramatic moments, and in its story about an ordinary dad facing a nightmare scenario.

Recommended

The extreme weather events of 2023
An illustration of a tornado and wind-swept palm trees
In depth

The extreme weather events of 2023

Russia's spring Ukraine offensive may be winding down amid heavy losses
Ukrainian tank fires near Bakhmut
Attrition

Russia's spring Ukraine offensive may be winding down amid heavy losses

UBS agrees to buy Credit Suisse in $3.2 billion deal
Credit Suisse's New York headquarters in Manhattan.
banking crisis averted?

UBS agrees to buy Credit Suisse in $3.2 billion deal

Crucial Ukrainian grain export deal extended despite disagreement
Grain ships anchored off the coast of Istanbul, Turkey.
Extended Again

Crucial Ukrainian grain export deal extended despite disagreement

Most Popular

The truth about alcohol
Alcohol being poured into a rocks glass.
Briefing

The truth about alcohol

North Korea claims 800,000 people volunteered to fight against the U.S.
North Korean soldiers march in a parade in 2018.
A Frightening Figure

North Korea claims 800,000 people volunteered to fight against the U.S.

Is it time to stop dyeing the Chicago River green?
The Chicago River is dyed green for St. Patrick's Day.
Instant opinion

Is it time to stop dyeing the Chicago River green?