A typically dumb movie for Stallone, which packs in all the usual clichés and characters into a shallow yet satisfying package. If you've ever seen any other prison movies then you'll know what to expect here: the gang of thugs, Stallone's loyal pals, the hero's stay in solitary confinement, beatings by the guards, and the guard who turns out to be an ally of the hero. Thankfully, this is a fast-paced movie which packs a lot of cheesy male-bonding, double-crosses, and action into the running time and at least turns out to be consistently entertaining for a mainstream movie.

Stallone, as per usual, plays a squeaky-clean character who has to face up against the bad guys. Stallone's acting skills are perfectly suited for a lowbrow movie such as this and he fits in nicely. Sonny Landham (previously an adult star) is also very good, and hissably evil as a cruel inmate who is determined to make his life miserable. The supporting cast is unusually good for a film like this, a fact which makes Stallone's movie more enjoyable than Van Damme's prison offering, DEATH WARRANT. John Amos is a hard-as-nails guard with compassion in his heart, a young (and thin) Tom Sizemore is a wacky fellow inmate who becomes Stallone's pal, and the familiar Frank McRae is a huge but cuddly car-lover. To top it all off, a previously "big name" actor stars as the chief bad guy...it's none other than Donald Sutherland, who has had a nice thirty-five year career playing in horror and cult movies. Sutherland has a ball as the sadistic, ruthless, and slightly demented warden.

Basically, the various scenarios throughout this film are just different ways to make Stallone suffer. He has to suffer holding his breath for over a minute in a poisoned cell, getting locked up in solitary, getting stabbed and beaten plus lots more. Of course, you just know that Stallone and his pals are going to turn the tables at the end in what is a pretty good, tense conclusion. LOCK UP is a film for Stallone fans, prison movie fans, or just casual viewers who want to switch their brains off after a hard day at work.

Frank Leone (Sylvester Stallone) is in minimum security lock up with 6 months left and even allowed out into the world with Melissa (Darlanne Fluegel). He gets transferred to maximum security Gateway by vindictive warden Drumgoole (Donald Sutherland). He had escaped Drumgoole's prison before and made him a laughing stock. Captain Meissner (John Amos) is his hardnosed guard. Guard Braden is more by the book. Dallas (Tom Sizemore) is an overly helpful prisoner. Eclipse manages the motorpool. Prison strongman Chink Weber is gunning for Frank.

The setup is questionable. I don't get how a guy who escaped once could possibly be slated for release. The only way is to do a deal with the D.A. probably as a whistleblower against Drumgoole. The short exchange in the movie seems to suggest that and then the question becomes how does Drumgoole still have a job? The explanation for Frank's situation is so short that it feels like the movie would rather ignore it.

The movie is trying to be gritty but parts of it seems wrong. At times, this feels more like a Rocky movie. There's even a musical montage of them fixing up a hot rod. It's completely out of place. There are other moments like teaching First Base how to drive. Again it's trying to be heart warming which is ill-fitting for the premise. Some of it works better but there are too many situations that don't match the expected tense grittiness. The dialog is also wrong. First Base actually uses the word 'jive'. The movie has a few too many clunky things going on.

The mechanic Frank Leone (Sylvester Stallone) is a model inmate in a low security prison and has only six months to serve. He intends to spend the rest of his life working in his garage and with his beloved girlfriend Melissa (Darlanne Fluegel). Out of the blue, Leone is brutally transferred during the night to the maximum security Gateway Prison without any explanation. Soon he learns that Warden Drumgoole (Donald Sutherland) is the responsible for his transference.

Leone had been sentenced to Treadmore Prison after beating the punks that hit his mentor and friend that taught him his profession of auto mechanic. When his mentor was dying, he asked permission to Drumgoole to go to visit his friend but the request was denied. Leone fled from Treadmore and his lawyer went to the press to expose Drumgoole's behavior. The result was Leone in a minimum security prison and Drumgoole sent to Gateway. Now the warden is seeking revenge and will do anything to keep Leone behind bars.

"Lock up" is an entertaining prison drama full of action with Sylvester Stallone after the successful Rambo trilogy. The story is flawed and shallow, and the viewer shall not think how a prisoner is transferred the way Frank Leone is and his lawyer simply does not exist in the story. The characters are not well developed and there is no explanation for the sadistic behavior of the prison guards. However this type of movie is not to think and entertains. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Condenação Brutal" ("Brutal Conviction")