"Fast & Furious" star Tyrese Gibson toplines writer & director Dallas Jackson's predictable prison yarn about a wronged Marine who winds up behind bars because he needed money that Uncle Sam promised but never delivered to help him with his ailing daughter after he emerged from the Middle East with a Congressional Medal of Honor. As this superficial but solidly produced melodrama opens, we see our protagonist, Terry Savage (Tyrese Gibson), raiding a drug house for the loot that will enable him to get his daughter medical treatment. Unfortunately, the local cops show up, and Terry finds himself in cuffs. The authorities take him to the Police Commissioner, Commissioner Clarke (Ric Reitz of "Safe Haven"), and Clarke offers Terry a pardon if he will expose an evil warden who runs a corporate prison. Once he finds himself behind bars, Terry must maintain vigilance because the inmates declare 'open season' on him because he prefers to go 'solo' rather than align himself with any one group. Warden Lucas (Jeremy Piven of "Black Hawk Down" ) runs the for profit prison that lands Terry in their midst. He reads Terry the riot act about survival in prison. Meanwhile, the Commissioner has a cell phone smuggled into stir for our hero to update him and expose any improprieties that he can document. The next thing that Terry learns is he will be sparring in illegal boxing matches with big sweepstakes. A veteran inmate, Bones (Terrence Howard of "Iron Man"), takes Terry under his wing and educates him about everything involved in survival. The crap hits the fan when another warden from another prison brings in a Goliath-like fighter with whom our hero will have to confront. Piven chews the scenery as a larger-than-life warden who arranges boxing matches from behind bars. Jackson conjures up all the usual cliches for this routine but reasonably well-produced thriller. "The System" is straightforward from start to finish. Decent photography.
Review of The System
