Lock Up poster & wallpaper

Danny Trejo, Darlanne Fluegel, David Anthony Marshall

With vanity projects like 1989's schlocky Lock Up to his credit, it's a wonder Sylvester Stallone survived to make some better movies in the '90s. This is a brutal dose of macho action that St...( read more  read more... )allone squeezed in between Rambo III and Rocky V, and his fans didn't seem to mind, so who's to judge? It's not as bad as Sly's other 1989 disaster (Tango & Cash), but you'd have to be demented, drunk, or have really low standards to call this a good movie. But if you're in a primal mood you'll get a kick out of this grimy flick, which would qualify as Z-grade exploitation if it weren't for Stallone's beefy presence as Frank Leone, a cooperative prisoner who's six months shy of parole when he's relocated to a hellhole called Gateway Prison. The wretched high-security facility is commandeered by Warden Drumgoole (Donald Sutherland), who is determined to settle an old score with Stallone ... and you can pretty much guess the rest. Director John Flynn didn't exactly distinguish himself with this one (he'd go on to direct forgettable fare like Out for Justice and Brainscan), but there's more visual style here than you might expect, and Sly manages to take it all so seriously that you can easily enjoy this gut buster as an unintentional comedy. --Jeff Shannon

Flixster Users

55% liked it

11,449 ratings

R, 115 min.

Directed by: John Flynn

Release Date: August 4, 1989

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: August 29, 2000

Get It:

Stats: 381 reviews

Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites
report incorrect info

Photos

lock up lock up lock up Lock Up (1989) lock up Lock Up Lock Up
Upload a Photo |

View All Lock Up Photos (7)

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (381)

  • allan913
    November 23, 2009
    allan913
    Sylvester Stallone gives one of the greatest performances of his career, showing he is not an action hero but an actor and what a hell of an unforgettable performance. Donald Sutherland is brilliant, giving an intense and great peroformance. A powerful and excellent film. It's mo...( read more)ving, thrilling, stunning and truly exhilerating. A riveting prison drama that is truly remarkable and outstanding.
  • SirPant
    November 13, 2009
    SirPant
    A great slice of egocentric 80's action. Things I like: Jon Amos in mirrored glasses, Frank McRae being a lovable hardass, blink-and-you-miss-it Danny Trejo scene. Things I dont like: The rest. Dumb but fun.
  • stopitgoaway
    August 18, 2009
    stopitgoaway
    Have to say right off that I can't believe the low rating for this one here because it delivers everything that a Stallone fan would want, if one is loading this into the player then surely they know what to expect !.

    Frank Leone only has a few weeks to go before being released ...( read more)from prison, he is no hard core offender, he is a loving man and is ready for a new life with his gorgeous girlfriend Melissa. During the night he is whisked away to a maximum security prison on the orders of a sadistic warden out for revenge because Leone was the only man to have ever escaped from his prison, and thus put a blemish on his record.

    We then follow Leone as he is pushed to the limits by crazy warden Drumgoole and all the sadistic guards under his command. He also enlists the help of resident inmate beefcake Chink Weber, and they all in turn try to break Leone at all costs to see that he never leaves prison again. There certainly is nothing here that hasn't been done before in the prison film genre, and only an idiot would expect anything other than the ending we get, but this is a Stallone movie and it's full of guts, testo macho action, and it should be noted that Sly here puts some depth to the character of Leone, he garners our sympathy quite quickly, and considering the bloke is built like the proverbial brick outhouse, it's quite an achievement.

    The supporting players are a mixed bunch, this is Tom Sizemore's first motion picture and he does really well with the character of Dallas, Sonny Landham is his usual scary menacing self as Chink Weber, whilst Frank McRae as Eclipse does just enough right to leave his mark. So it's something of a surprise to me that the best actor on show is actually the films weak link, Donald Sutherland as Drumgoole does overplay it to the point that he goes beyond pantomime villain, it's a real teeth itching performance that he would only outdo with Virus 10 years later, but in a film with such primal fun intentions, it has to be considered perfect.

    No awards here for sure, but when I watch a film about a man played by Sly Stallone in prison then I think I know what to expect, and it delivers all that I hoped for, hooray for the beefcake
  • harrycaul
    February 16, 2008
    harrycaul
    A cliched, instantly forgettable prison movie, which affords Stallone ample opportunity to indulge his twin weaknesses: masochism and sentimentality. It's all very predictable, so as soon as Donald Sutherland's sadistic warden shows Sly his reconditioned electric chair, you know ...( read more)one or the other of them will be sitting in it before the end of the movie. Similarly, once Stallone takes green lifer Larry Romano under his wing, the kid's days are clearly numbered. Ramano's demise brings an untimely end to the most interesting aspect of the film: his tussle with Tom Sizemore for the honour of 'Most Irritating Performance in a Supporting Role'. Those reviewers who describe Sutherland's performance as 'over-the-top'--no pun intended, Stallone fans--have obviously yet to experience his extraordinary slice of ham in Bertolucci's "1900", in comparison with which he's positively understated here. Chances are, you'll soon wish you were watching "Escape from Alcatraz" instead.
  • YosemiteSamFan
    July 14, 2007
    YosemiteSamFan
    Sylvester Stallone seems ripe for a prison movie. There's a great football game in the mud. I enjoyed the scene where Donald Sutherland is depriving Stallone of sleep by turning on lights and sounds. The dialogue in this flick is fairly good.
  • ElCochran90
    September 16, 2009
    ElCochran90
    Typical Stallone. No, that's not something good.

    38/100
  • weemuffin
    July 21, 2009
    weemuffin
    this is an awesome movie!! man i hate donald sutherland!!! he always plays the ''baddie'' but he does it so well..great movie!!
  • caretakerof5
    June 10, 2009
    caretakerof5
    Not a bad movie. It was slow in some parts but ok overall.
  • WORNGBIT
    June 6, 2009
    WORNGBIT
    top film 10 out of 10
  • arashxak
    May 24, 2009
    arashxak
    It seems that I can't stop wasting my time over these awful movies

View All Lock Up Reviews

Critic Reviews

No recent reviews.

Comments

This board looks lonely. Be the first to talk about "Lock Up" !

Post A Comment | View All Comments

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

All Rotten Tomatoes content is used under license from Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes, Certified Fresh, and the Tomatometer are the trademarks of Incfusion Corporation, d/b/a Rotten Tomatoes, a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment, Inc.

Official Trailer

View Larger Lock Up Trailer

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • Brubaker
    Brubaker (100%)
  • Death Race
    Death Race (67%)
  • The Lords of Flatbush
    The Lords of Flatbush (75%)
  • Screamers
    Screamers (25%)

More Movies like Lock Up

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

Lock Up : Watch Free on TV

Lock Up Trivia

  • Which one of these films did Sylvester Stallone not help write the scirpt  Answer »
  • 3...4...better lock your door 5...6...grab your crucifix 7...8...gonna stay up late  Answer »
  • "One, two- Freddie comes for you. Three, four- Better lock the door. Five, six- Get your crucifix. Seven, eight- Better stay up late. Nine, ten- Never sleep again." Name THE FIRST one of a series of movies that has this rhyme in it.  Answer »
  • What actor do the following movies have in common? Born on the Fourth of July Passenger 57 Wyatt Earp Lock Up Get Carter   Answer »
More Lock Up Trivia

Movie Quizzes

No quizzes for Lock Up. Want to create one?

Video Clips

No video clips yet. Want to upload one?

Meet Other Fans

Add Lock Up to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?