In a case of art imitating lifel, Sean Penn is an illiterate thug involved in a robbery that goes wrong. A kid dies. Penn gets sent to juvenile detention.
Whlie in lockup, Penn takes on the two guys at the top of the prison food chain and becomes top dog himself.
Meanwhile, the older brother of the kid killed in the robbery gains his revenge by r@ping Penn's girlfriend. Guess where he ends up? Yup, juvenile detention.
It's pretty entertaining for a prison movie. The film-makers had the good sense to make Penn's character more about action than talk.
Less thrilling are the parts starring Aly Sheedy. She's basically just a prop. In fact, at the end of Act 2, she is Penn's excuse to bawl like he always does in his movies.
Naturally, Act 3 involves the showdown between Penn and his nemesis Esai Morales. It's not as thrilling as Penn's earlier encounter with Clancy Brown and his little running mate. And it gives Penn another excuse to trot out his st00pid bawling routine.
Nevertheless, it's easy to see when watching this movie, Fast Times, Taps, Falcon and the Snowman, etc. Why he was such a well-regarded young actor. It's too bad he chose to use his rise from the mean streets of Santa Monica to cozy up to some of the world's most odious authoritarians and economic illiterates. I blame Madonna.
Whlie in lockup, Penn takes on the two guys at the top of the prison food chain and becomes top dog himself.
Meanwhile, the older brother of the kid killed in the robbery gains his revenge by r@ping Penn's girlfriend. Guess where he ends up? Yup, juvenile detention.
It's pretty entertaining for a prison movie. The film-makers had the good sense to make Penn's character more about action than talk.
Less thrilling are the parts starring Aly Sheedy. She's basically just a prop. In fact, at the end of Act 2, she is Penn's excuse to bawl like he always does in his movies.
Naturally, Act 3 involves the showdown between Penn and his nemesis Esai Morales. It's not as thrilling as Penn's earlier encounter with Clancy Brown and his little running mate. And it gives Penn another excuse to trot out his st00pid bawling routine.
Nevertheless, it's easy to see when watching this movie, Fast Times, Taps, Falcon and the Snowman, etc. Why he was such a well-regarded young actor. It's too bad he chose to use his rise from the mean streets of Santa Monica to cozy up to some of the world's most odious authoritarians and economic illiterates. I blame Madonna.