Lock Up (1989 film)

Lock Up

Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	1989
Headquarters	United States
Products	Film

Lock Up is a 1989 American prison action film helmed by director John Flynn, featuring performances from Sylvester Stallone, Donald Sutherland, John Amos, and Tom Sizemore. The movie debuted in the United States on August 4, 1989.

Reflecting on the project, Stallone admitted that the film "lacked the maturity in both production and performance necessary to leave a lasting impression on viewers or advance my career."

Plot

Frank Leone, a skilled mechanic from Hoboken, New Jersey, is an exemplary inmate approaching the conclusion of his term at Norwood, a minimum-security prison. During his furloughs, he spends time repairing vehicles, playing football, and visiting his girlfriend Melissa.

One night while asleep in his cell, Leone is abruptly transferred by guards to Gateway Prison, a harsh maximum-security facility overseen by Warden Drumgoole. This move was orchestrated by Drumgoole as retaliation for Leone’s previous escape from Drumgoole's jurisdiction and for exposing the warden’s abusive treatment of prisoners after being denied permission to visit his dying mentor. As a result, five additional years were added to Leone’s sentence, and Drumgoole was reassigned to Gateway.

At Gateway, Leone endures mistreatment from both the guards and Chink Weber, an inmate who holds power as Drumgoole’s trustee. He forms alliances with fellow prisoners Dallas, Eclipse, and First-Base. Together, they restore a Ford Mustang in the prison workshop, which they name "Maybelline." Leone confides that his incarceration stems from seeking justice for an assault on his mentor. After First-Base takes the Mustang out into the yard, Drumgoole forces Leone and his friends to witness its destruction at the hands of other inmates. Following this event, Leone is placed in solitary confinement where he suffers torture until Captain Meissner intervenes due to the guards’ excessive cruelty.

Drumgoole attempts to break Leone’s spirit by ordering Chink to murder First-Base. Although Leone attacks Chink in retaliation, he refrains from killing him, aware that Drumgoole wants him to lose control. Before Leone can respond further, he is stabbed by one of Chink’s associates. While recuperating, Leone discovers that Melissa is under threat of sexual assault and homicide. Determined to rescue her, he plans an escape with Dallas but is betrayed and apprehended. It emerges that Drumgoole engineered this scheme to provoke an escape attempt that would extend Leone’s sentence by ten years. Dallas was forced into complicity but sacrifices himself by killing a guard to enable Leone’s flight.

Rather than fleeing, a furious Leone confronts Drumgoole inside the execution chamber. He straps the warden into the electric chair and sparks a standoff with prison guards. Under threat of death, Drumgoole admits to his manipulations. Leone reveals he had disabled the chair’s fuse beforehand to compel this confession. Captain Meissner arrests both men; despite Drumgoole’s menacing threats, Meissner remains resolute.

A formal investigation follows into Drumgoole’s corrupt actions. Leone serves only his original sentence before being released amid applause from fellow inmates. He says goodbye to Meissner and reunites with Melissa outside Gateway.

Box office

Lock Up generated $22.1 million in revenue against its $24 million production budget.

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, only 31% of 16 critics offered positive reviews, resulting in an average score of 4.7/10. Metacritic assigned it a score of 52 out of 100 based on 6 critiques, reflecting "mixed or average" feedback.

Kevin Thomas from the Los Angeles Times critiqued Stallone's portrayal as lacking authenticity. Hal Hinson of The Washington Post labeled the film a "vanity production." Film historian Leonard Maltin rated it 1.5 stars out of 4 and unfavorably compared it to Chained Heat. Audience surveys conducted by CinemaScore awarded it a "B+" rating.

See also

• Escape Plan (film series), another franchise featuring Sylvester Stallone centered around prison settings.