On L List of Movie Reviews
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Lock Up (1989)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
1/04, 1/05, 7/08, 5/16, 2/22
7/08:
Lock Up is a memorable prison picture in Sylvester Stallone's oeuvre.
Tom Sizemore, in his first movie role, isn't bad as Dallas. Hampered by poor start, his character gets on a
roll by delivering great lines. He has a memorable death scene with Jordan Lund who plays the sadistic guard
Manly.
My favorite scene is when Frank Leone was recovering in the infirmary after he got stabbed in the back and
had a conversation with a Henry Rollins look-alike inmate in wheelchair. He seemed friendly and genuine, and
then the next second, he had plans to rape Leone's fiancé. Meanwhile, the showdown between Leone and Drumgoole
is a can't-miss. The sight of Donald Sutherland's face as he begs for mercy is comical.
All in all, Lock Up is a shot of testosterone in the arm for all Stallone fans.
5/16:
Lock Up is Stallone's Shawshank Redemption.
No matter how many times I've seen the movie, I don't agree with the nomination given to Donald Sutherland
for Worst Supporting Actor. He did fine, and I like his character. I realize now Tom Sizemore gave a very good
performance as the hyperactive, talkative Dallas. Or was he really hopped up on drugs? Either way, kudos to him
for being memorable. Playing Chink Weber the yard boss, Sonny Landham is great and will always be
well known as Billy in Predator.
There are a lot of strong scenes which were shot on location at New Jersey's Rahway State Prison with actual
inmates and guards. My favorite is when Frank Leone has a nice conversation with an inmate in wheelchair and
it immediately goes sour when he has plans to rape Leone's fiancée. The football scenes are not to be missed,
either; they did it for real, with no stunt doubles, resulting in serious injuries for Sylvester Stallone.
All in all, Lock Up is an underrated Stallone classic, and I never get tired of watching it over and over.
2/22:
One aspect I look for in a film is realism, and Lock Up oozes it aplenty.
Shot on location at East Jersey State Prison (formerly Rahway State Prison), the extras are actual prisoners
and guards, providing the look. Of course, Sylvester Stallone is the man while
Predator's Sonny Landham matches him intensity for intensity. The most
brutal scene is the football game. I can tell these people were duking it out for real. Stallone almost broke
his leg.
To this day, I have no idea why Donald Sutherland was nominated for Worst Supporting Performance of the Year.
What he did is simply excellent. The warden is a sadist along with his guards. It's nice to see John Amos not
to be part of them who's just doing his job. I've got to love his frameless glasses that's held back by a couple
of strings to achieve the tough look.
On the other hand, the story is great and entirely believable with terrific editing and many Stallone moments.
In prison, you have decent guys versus stone-cold killers. Hence, rooting for Frank Leone and his buddies
becomes easy. I got invested into the film almost immediately.
All in all, I think of Lock Up as Shawshank Stallone.