Lock Up

Lock Up is currently streaming in Australia on Stan, and in the UK on Studiocanal Presents Amazon Channel, and its case-by-case structure never gets in the way of the bigger story. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. With 1,331 viewer ratings on TMDB, this is not a title flying under the radar. Sylvester Stallone sets the tone, and the ensemble matches it scene for scene. There is no real reason to keep putting it off — it is right there on Stan.

Part of the current wave of titles people are actually watching, Lock Up earns its spot. The plotting gives Lock Up its backbone, but it is the characters you come back for. Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after his administration was publicly humiliated by Leone, and has now arrived on the scene to ensure that Leone never sees the light of day. Sylvester Stallone and Donald Sutherland lead a cast that brings real weight to the material. It was released in 1989. What makes Lock Up hold up is that the resolution matters less than how the characters get there. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Viewers who think they have seen every crime drama tend to find Lock Up proves them wrong. It stands on its own even without an obvious comparison point. Short enough to finish in one sitting, substantial enough to feel satisfying. Sylvester Stallone carries scenes that would sink a lesser production. The resolution feels inevitable rather than arbitrary, which is rarer than it sounds.