Lock Up

Name: Lock Up
Genre: Action, Thriller, Crime
Released: August 4, 1989
Duration: 115 min
Rating: 52
Cast: Sylvester Stallone

1989

METASCORE

Mixed or average reviews based on 6 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Ratings

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6.9

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6.9	Your Score
6.9	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 38 Ratings

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Lock Up

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Movie Details & Credits

TriStar Pictures | Release Date: August 4, 1989 | R

Starring: Sylvester Stallone

Summary: "This is hell and I'm going to give you a guided tour!" With these chilling words, the warden welcomes Frank Leone to Gateway Prison, a nightmare jail where every minute is hard time. The warden wants vengeance for the past; Leone wants only to survive the present. Their explosive battle of wills is the electrifying heart of one of LOCK UP."This is hell and I'm going to give you a guided tour!" With these chilling words, the warden welcomes Frank Leone to Gateway Prison, a nightmare jail where every minute is hard time. The warden wants vengeance for the past; Leone wants only to survive the present. Their explosive battle of wills is the electrifying heart of one of LOCK UP. Stallone gives a monumental performance as Leone, a convict driven to break his own cherished code by a warden who will stop at nothing to get him. (Lionsgate Home Entertainment)… Expand

Director: John Flynn

Genre(s): Action, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 115 min

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Critic Reviews

Desson Howe

Put the whole movie down to cartoonery...This is a drive-in theater battle of wills between the forces of evil and the forces of good. Read full review

Jonathan Rosenbaum

For torture and violence freaks, every clank and thud is duly and hyperbolically registered. Read full review

Hal Hinson

The film is a sort of prison fantasy, in which all the most popular boys in the cellblock have a high time together, smoking cigarettes, working on cars and spraying each other with paint guns...All the while you're thinking, "What is this, ancient Greece?" Read full review

Empire Tom Tunney

A hard-boiled version of Rocky, with enough anti-Balboa brutality to keep our interest. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Lock Up is made in the same, simplistic vein as most other Sylvester Stallone pics - putting him, the blue-collar protagonist, against the odds over which he ultimately prevails. Read full review

TV Guide Magazine Staff (Not Credited)

With nothing in the way of performance to cling to, the audience is left to marvel at the mounting inanity of each scene. Read full review

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User Reviews

Zaynhewsonjavad

Apr 4, 2016

...........................................................................................................................................................Stallone is great

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Jorchking

Dec 5, 2019

Buena película. A contrario de la prensa destrozando película que no se ajuste a sus intereses, este filme logra hacer sentir la injusticia con las personas encerradas injustamente debido a la corrupción y abuso de las autoridades. No sólo hace sentir muy bien la impotencia debido a lasBuena película. A contrario de la prensa destrozando película que no se ajuste a sus intereses, este filme logra hacer sentir la injusticia con las personas encerradas injustamente debido a la corrupción y abuso de las autoridades. No sólo hace sentir muy bien la impotencia debido a las cosas a las que lo someten al personaje de Stallone y aún así no rendirse sino que además logra también mostrar la importancia que tienen los afectos cercanos a uno.
Una película buena y con posibilidad de repetición.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SplitMind

Mar 6, 2023

If you haven't seen many prison films it's a good tour of the horrific tropes available. Otherwise, it can feel like every cliche about prison movies all in one movie.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

VicFerrari

Nov 26, 2022

I came to this after watching director John Flynn's 70s classics 'Rolling Thunder' and 'The Outfit'. What a disappointment! It's an empty Stallone vehicle, devoid of the characterization and detail that elevated Flynn's early work. Banal and stupid.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

oliver1h

Apr 7, 2013

Think about every cliché about prison movies and you get Lock up. We have evil prison wardens, a North American prison which is portrayed like a prison in Turkey during the 1950's. We have the "big bad" prisoner and a young naive prisoner, who befriends the protagonist just to be killedThink about every cliché about prison movies and you get Lock up. We have evil prison wardens, a North American prison which is portrayed like a prison in Turkey during the 1950's. We have the "big bad" prisoner and a young naive prisoner, who befriends the protagonist just to be killed later. The girlfriend of the protagonist is harassed by the prison staff, like they would be some kind of dystopian society with no regulation and people's rights. Unrealistic portrayal of prisons and prison life. The acting is average.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

Steven1981

Mar 18, 2020

Lock Up is a prison drama starring Sylvester Stallone, Sonny Landham and Donald Sutherland.. Stallone the prisoner gets transferred by Donald Sutherland without any reason or explanation and Sutherland makes Stallone's life hell behind bars. A horrible film, not even enjoyable, the acting byLock Up is a prison drama starring Sylvester Stallone, Sonny Landham and Donald Sutherland.. Stallone the prisoner gets transferred by Donald Sutherland without any reason or explanation and Sutherland makes Stallone's life hell behind bars. A horrible film, not even enjoyable, the acting by all involved is second rate and something of value like a car boot sale. The acting is basically horrible, no decent scenery except outside of a prison and inside and convicts being killed inside the prison walls and stabbings occuring. A rather pointless game of rugby played in muddy and disgusting conditions by male prisoners and constant fighting and disagreements. Even when the inmates are friendly to each other this film still feels horrible, yucky and depressing. Terrible movie!… Expand

0 of 4 users found this helpful04

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