2009: Though nominated for a few Razzies during a brutal transitional ye

2009: Though nominated for a few Razzies during a brutal transitional year for Stallone and his unsteady career, “Lock Up” isn’t a loathsome film. It’s fine B-list escapism, made during a slightly more innocent time when a general atmosphere of illogic could be encouraged by Hollywood without 1000 message board maroons ready to pounce on every last detail.

A glorified television movie, “Lock Up” has the benefit of Stallone, who brings his usual streetwise charisma to the role of Frank Leone. It’s a solid, cushy performance from the superstar, made even more entertaining when the film becomes a game to count how many times Stallone refused the natural physical progression of Leone’s violent stint at Gateway. My favorite comes after the character endures six weeks of psychological torment in the grimy, suffocating “Hole,” only emerge looking like he overslept at the Four Seasons. Thanks for the effort, Sly.

LOCK UP Stallone Post Hole

“Lock Up” is a fairly standard prison picture, with shiv-happy antics, a prison block bully, betrayals, ghoulish guards, and a sympathetic dumb guy. Director John Flynn keeps it all in check and creates a believable prison community, but the screenplay insists on cliché and idiocy to get by, looking to swell Drumgoole’s master plan past prison walls, heading for Leone’s insistent girlfriend. At nearly two hours, “Lock Up” overstays its welcome, especially during an endless last-act prison break sequence. While it provides Sutherland with something to do (his role is basically a cameo), the action dissolves into silliness, ruining whatever promise was made for a gritty thriller in the opening act.

“Lock Up” isn’t quite the eye-opening ball-shriveler it was decades back, but it’s serviceable, possibly entertaining for those in a mood for Stallone and his carefully-contractually-negotiated torment, along with some needed racial sensitivity.