Blu-ray Review: Spend Time With Sylvester Stallone In LOCK UP
Lock Up might not be Sylvester Stallone’s finest hour, but if you check your brain at the door and embrace its silliness then you’ll likely have a good enough time. This prison thriller sees Stallone’s salt-of-the-earth prisoner having a brutal time in a maximum security prison run by Donald Sutherland’s evil and sadistic warden. It’s like prison reform never happened.
The whole thing is totally preposterous but there’s fun to be had and John Flynn’s film has a strong supporting cast with John Amos, Sonny Landham and Tom Sizemore joining Stallone and Sutherland for some prison hijinks. Performance-wise everyone does okay with the flimsy material and the whole thing plays out like a brawny cartoon. This was never going to win anyone awards (although it was nominated for a few Razzies)
I don’t know what it is about Stallone and prison movies but he does seem to enjoy spending time in the clink. Not only does he have three Escape Plan movies under hid belt but he also did time in Tango and Cash as well as being locked up as a POW in Escape To Victory.
Lock Up includes a score by Stallone’s go-to composer, Bill Conti, the man who helped the Italian Stallone break though with the iconic Gonna Fly Now. There’s a Rocky-esqe montage sequence that aspires to greatness but it sadly comes across as a little cheesy.
It’s not terrible – and it’s far from great – but Lock Up will do the trick if you’re in the zone for some Sylvester Stallone.
Special Features
This new blu-ray release of Lock Up comes with some solid extras. You get cast interviews and some behind the scenes material. As solid as Stallone’s biceps.
