A text card at the end of Ric Roman Waugh's Snitch informs the audience that under our current legal system a mandatory prison sentence for a first-time non-violent drug offender is longer than the average sentence for someone who commits rape, child molestation, bank robbery or manslaughter. This is a very important message to get across, but the smartest thing that Snitch does is instead of preaching or trying to hammer this into the heads of its audience it instead deceptively portrays it under the veil of a thriller starring Dwayne Johnson.

Some may be upset to walk into this film expecting something more in the realm of Johnson's non-stop action flicks like Faster and Walking Tall only to find that it's much more dramatic and really builds to its action-filled climax but I admired the way that this script by Waugh and Justin Haythe wrapped such a vital message under something marketable to a different kind of audience. Kicking off when Jason Collins (Rafi Gavron) is arrested for receiving a package of drugs from his dealer friend only to find himself getting screwed over by this mandatory minimum law on drug charges, Snitch centers itself on the story of Jason's father John Matthews (Johnson) and his attempt to get his son out of prison by working with the law to lock up more significant drug targets.

It's a pretty bizarre plot to get across. Even though it's roughly based on true events I had a hard time swallowing the logistics of the deal Matthews makes with those agreeing to free his son, and it was something that unfortunately stuck with me through most of the movie. Dwayne Johnson isn't someone known for his dramatic skills and I have to say that I couldn't buy him in this role as a man being pushed around and beat up, as he's the kind of actor who has cultivated such a persona that it's difficult to see him as anything else at this point. His comedic performance in Pain & Gain this year is my favorite thing he's done and a great move for him, but I can't say he works well in drama.

That being said, he's surrounded by a roster of very talented actors in supporting roles who make fine impressions without upstaging the material. Jon Bernthal has got to be the best in show as an ex-con trying to stay straight who Matthews uses as a connection into the drug world, while Barry Pepper and Michael K. Williams also give particularly solid work as men on opposite sides of the law. Matthews gets stuck in the middle of something well above his head, but Snitch is about the strength of his love for his son and his determination to persevere through anything to get him to safety. Some nice ideas and a more gradual, dramatic pace make Snitch something different than what you'd expect from seeing the marketing material for it but unfortunately none of it is enough to make it truly stand out.