Lock Up

Directed by John Flynn, Lock Up follows model inmate Frank Leone (Sylvester Stallone) as he’s forced to serve the remainder of his sentence within a notoriously tough penitentiary ruled over by the evil Warden Drumgoole (Donald Sutherland). It’s decidedly familiar territory that is, at the outset, employed to watchable yet far from enthralling effect by Flynn, as the filmmaker, armed with a script by Richard Smith, Jeb Stuart, and Henry Rosenbaum, delivers a fairly run-of-the-mill, almost generic prison drama that doesn’t contain much in the way of attention-grabbing attributes or elements – with the movie’s saving grace initially the stellar work of its various performers. (Stallone’s typically magnetic turn is certainly matched by Sutherland’s sneering, gleefully over-the-top efforts as the mustache-twirling villain.) It’s clear, then, that Lock Up benefits from a midsection and second half that’s been peppered with several memorable interludes and standout sequences (eg Frank and a couple of fellow inmates restore a classic car), while the engrossing climactic stretch, highlighted by a gripping escape sequence and thoroughly satisfying final confrontation between Frank and the Warden, packs a far more exciting, visceral punch than one might’ve initially anticipated – which does, in the end, cement the movie’s place as an erratic yet ultimately rewarding endeavor (particularly for fans of Stallone and/or prison films).

*** out of ****