Interesting thing - This could have been a "Rambo" movie. It would had taken place after "First Blood".
"Lock up" is an ambitious movie that tries hard to tell something , but ends as a cheesy , clichéd and pointless movie. It's "Shawshank Redemption" for dummies. It has some good elements in it , but it's still a bombastic , over the top fare that it's hard to take seriously.
The whole conflict in "Lock up" is ridiculous . It's basically a story of Devil (prison warden) trying to break down Jesus (the prisoner) . Everything is black and white here , there's no moral ambiguity . Furthermore , I fail to see what's the point of this movie is. That the justice system is flawed ? That the prison wardens and guards are sociopaths who enjoy torturing innocent prisoners ? That the prisoners are mostly good people who deserve respect ? Honestly , I don't know what the movie is trying to say here .
The other serious problem of the movie is the acting of Sylvester Stallone and Donald Sutherland. Not only their characters are terribly one dimensional ( one is 100 % good , the other is 100 % bad) , but both of them give hammy performances. Stallone lacks expression , while Sutherland tries too hard to show how evil he is.
The final nail to the coffin is the predictable , cheesy and cliché screenplay. It does seem to move from one sadistic act to another. The villains are never subtle. The dialogues are often laughable ("Rape my fist") . The friendship that Leone forms with a small group of other inmates is downright school-girlish (the spray fight !). There's nothing realistic about the whole story and that's why it's hard to be emotionally involved with what is happening on the screen.
There are good elements. "Lock up" is nicely directed by John Flynn ("Rolling thunder" , "Bestseller") .The score by Bill Conti (Rocky") is good. The movie looks great - the prison used here was the East Jersey State Prison in Rahway, New Jersey. The cast includes real inmates of Rahway State Prison. Chuck Wepner, the real-life inspiration for Rocky Balboa, was an inmate at the prison where the film was shot.
The supporting cast is pretty strong with Tom Sizemore ("Passenger 57") , Frank McRae ("48 ours") , Sonny Landham ("Predator") , Darlanne Fluegal ("To live and die in LA") and Danny Trejo ("Desperado").
"Lock up" is a bad movie , but somewhat entertaining , especially if you don't take it seriously. It won't be until the 1997 when Stallone will make a good drama with the good and underrated "Copland" . I give "Lock up" 2/10.
"Lock up" is an ambitious movie that tries hard to tell something , but ends as a cheesy , clichéd and pointless movie. It's "Shawshank Redemption" for dummies. It has some good elements in it , but it's still a bombastic , over the top fare that it's hard to take seriously.
The whole conflict in "Lock up" is ridiculous . It's basically a story of Devil (prison warden) trying to break down Jesus (the prisoner) . Everything is black and white here , there's no moral ambiguity . Furthermore , I fail to see what's the point of this movie is. That the justice system is flawed ? That the prison wardens and guards are sociopaths who enjoy torturing innocent prisoners ? That the prisoners are mostly good people who deserve respect ? Honestly , I don't know what the movie is trying to say here .
The other serious problem of the movie is the acting of Sylvester Stallone and Donald Sutherland. Not only their characters are terribly one dimensional ( one is 100 % good , the other is 100 % bad) , but both of them give hammy performances. Stallone lacks expression , while Sutherland tries too hard to show how evil he is.
The final nail to the coffin is the predictable , cheesy and cliché screenplay. It does seem to move from one sadistic act to another. The villains are never subtle. The dialogues are often laughable ("Rape my fist") . The friendship that Leone forms with a small group of other inmates is downright school-girlish (the spray fight !). There's nothing realistic about the whole story and that's why it's hard to be emotionally involved with what is happening on the screen.
There are good elements. "Lock up" is nicely directed by John Flynn ("Rolling thunder" , "Bestseller") .The score by Bill Conti (Rocky") is good. The movie looks great - the prison used here was the East Jersey State Prison in Rahway, New Jersey. The cast includes real inmates of Rahway State Prison. Chuck Wepner, the real-life inspiration for Rocky Balboa, was an inmate at the prison where the film was shot.
The supporting cast is pretty strong with Tom Sizemore ("Passenger 57") , Frank McRae ("48 ours") , Sonny Landham ("Predator") , Darlanne Fluegal ("To live and die in LA") and Danny Trejo ("Desperado").
"Lock up" is a bad movie , but somewhat entertaining , especially if you don't take it seriously. It won't be until the 1997 when Stallone will make a good drama with the good and underrated "Copland" . I give "Lock up" 2/10.