The System (I) (2022) User Reviews

Too many flaws that can't be overlooked, especially Gibson's lazy performance.

[Top_Dawg_Critic · 5/10 · 7 November 2022]

I always make an effort to give some slack to newb filmmakers, but they need to at least bring something fresh to the table. Writer and director Dallas Jackson gave us a film that's been done many times before, and many times better. There was nothing new or engaging in the dragged out 97 min runtime, but cliched characters with cheesy dialogue, a predictable and bland script, with sub-par performances all around. It was clear that Jackson was inexperienced directing his cast effectively, but at least Terrence Howard and Jeremy Piven gave it their best attempt; Tyrese Gibson gave his lousiest, laziest and most boring performance to date, like it was his first acting gig. He made it seem like he'd rather just be at home calling in his lines - even him just walking around so slow in his scenes felt like he was struggling to stay awake. Had Gibson put in just half the effort (even with some facial expressions) like the rest of the cast did, this may have been more watchable. But instead, it was a boring slog with mediocre action and a barely existent narrative. It's a very generous 5/10 from me.

Tyrese Gibson Makes Mean Faces

[vbacon-111-578329 · 4/10 · 5 November 2022]

Sometimes just sad, but usually mean and you never see him smiling.

Sadly, this movie deserves the 3.5 rating it currently has. I gave it a 4 as I'm a sucker for prison movies. The plot is unoriginal and unrealistic with gaping plot holes. The shocking plot twists are predictable and boring.

Have we ever seen a movie where the upstanding guy ends up in a prison with an unscrupulous warden? But this is no Shawshank Redemption. Have we ever seen a secret fight league run by the guards/warden? Yeah, but I can't even remember those movies names. This is worse than those.

One oddity is that they have the fighters wear body armor. Just weird. One stupid goof is they have Tyrese benching what looks to be 135 lbs. And struggling at it. I'm 5' 6", in ok shape, and I can do that easily.

They pulled in two actors with credible resumes; Jeremy Piven and Terrence Howard. Neither have decent showings. Pivens' fake southern accent and clownish behavior are amateurish. Howard's big brother teacher role is average at best.

Anyway, it was mildly entertaining for what it is.

Skipping this will you make you much happier than watching it...

[imseeg · 3/10 · 6 November 2022]

I decided to watch this movie because of the appearance of the excellent actor Terrence Howard. He does act well (again), but the rest of this movie is a stinker...

The bad: this story does not make sense. It's gibbledigook nonsensical. And mind you, this story is meant to be taken seriously, but it ends up being a laughing stock.

More bad; 2 actors are performing well, but the rest of the cast is hopelessly below average. This movie is rushed or at least void of any talent in writing and directing.

Not even the action is worth the watch. I am a fan of action B-movies, but this movie is just completely lacking in any sort of exciting action as well. What a dud!

Flat low budget offering

[jonnytheshirt · 2/10 · 8 November 2022]

Almost worth it for a scene where Jeremy Piven's character is pretending to be in the same room as the rest of the cast. The budget was certainly blown on the couple of recognisable faces present. Unfortunately it's a low bar all round for this one. The costumes look a bit naff and the acting is largely terrible. There's an under current to the script which isn't too bad an idea addressing the corporation of the prison system in the US coupled with the treatment of ex-army Vets however direction, location, lighting and the juxtaposition of over earnest with plain bad acting unfortunately ends up delivering a difficult watch. A couple of funny moments (maybe not intentional mind) and a few passable fight sequences.

What did the director smoke?

[jomy-augustine · 2/10 · 5 November 2022]

That's all I wan' know. Dallas Jackson, what did you smoke before making this? 'cos I swear today to stay far away from it.... Gibson must be cursing himself for being a part of this... 20 minutes of the movie and I felt like I was watching some amateur 80s' chinese stuff.... The actors have done their best but the way it is directed and the cinematography.... Both deserve an Oscar for "God knows what it was". I personally feel that the young film makers must watch this again and again so they'd know what not to do. Also the script seems like stolen from hundreds of average films from the past 2 decades.

Good God man...

[thedragonmaker-04752 · 1/10 · 6 November 2022]

Who is kidnapper holding Gibson's and Howard's family members hostage??? It's the only reason I can afford for them being tied to this piece of trash. Really bad acting, writing, cinematography, sets, etc...etc... The eighties A-Team or Hardcastle and McCormack had better production value and scripts!!! The prison laundry scene looked like a laundromat. The prison yard looked like a high school gym area with temp fencing. Low budget doesn't begin to describe this terrible film... A more appropriate title would be 80 minutes of Tyrese Making Stinkface... I want my 80 minutes back with interest!

The Joke

[hanishawki69 · 1/10 · 6 November 2022]

I can't believe I kept myself watching this crap for thirty minutes. If there was 0 rating, I would have stuck it there. How could this joke movie makers dare bringing this forward to public. Very cheap acting, very cheap scenario, crap storyline if its is considered one.

At the first scene, you see this Rambooo attacking a gang house alone with a gun he lost as soon as he forced himself in. And without a gun, he takes down every single body there with a rock'n roll music played at the background. This Rambooo takes too less and when he does, you will need to increase the volume of your screen to heat what he mumbles. This is when I shut down my TV and decided not to watch any movie that night at all. They can this crap the system!!

Even the cheesiness of it all is bad

[ykjdh · 1/10 · 23 April 2023]

Dallas Jackson, director of the classic Van Damme remake/sequel Sudden Death is the guy known for cheesy action movies. Omg, I literally said a van Damme movie is classic, nvm. This knockoff trash of an action movie is u intentionally hilarious right down to the set up in the first act. Tyrese is some special ops soldier who ends up in Jeremy Piven's prison. The silliness of it all is there's some sort of corruption Tyrese is supposed to find. Someone decided to throw social justice politics here too about prison/corporate big business. The dialogue is cheesy, the fight scenes are some of the dumbest ever made, and the movie in general comes off as comedic. If anyone is going to make stupid movies it might as well be Tyrese Gibson. It's not like he's known for his acting ability.

Low budget prison fight movie you seen a few dozen times

[destroyerwod · 7/10 · 28 February 2023]

You seen the scripte to this movie a couple dozen times. There is nothing original in there. Its also fairly low udget both in term of set pieces and overall look. But does it mean the movie is bad? No.

The story is interesting enough to follow and the fights are pretty decent. Gibson plays a more stoic character than usual, far from the style he play in Fast and Furious. Some says he put a lazy performance but i feel the character was just suppose to be this low profile unexpressive war vet. He does the job fine.

I don't have a ton to say about it, its just the kind of small movies i enjoy. It don't pretend to be anything more than pop corn saturday night movie that you'll watch once and move on. Worth its rental if you like fighting movies and prison set up. Just don't expect this to be Boyka thats all.

Worst

[ahrowaili · 1/10 · 2 December 2022]

The worst movie I've seen in my life because of the comic story written by the director of the movie The acting in this movie is tacky and the story repetitive The worst movie I've seen in my life because of the comic story written by the director of the movie The acting in this movie is tacky and the story repetitive comic story written by the director of the movie The acting in this movie is tacky and the story repetitive comic story written by the director of the movie The acting in this movie is tacky and the story repetitive comic story written by the director of the movie The acting in this movie is tacky and the story repetitive.

People are thinking about this all wrong

[craighartwell · 8/10 · 26 May 2023]

This is a good film, people are thinking it's low budget and poorly made, it's not, the director is clearly paying homage to all the 70's 80's action films and at the same time making it his own. Look at the wardens chair watching the fight! Look at padding they wear it's MEANT to look like this! I watched it, I think everyone's acting was perfect for the type of film! Dallas Jackson has made a new fan right here! And I can't wait to see what comes next! Ignore all the hate ignore all the haters! Go watch this film! Tell a friend tell all your friends! It's brilliant! Hope there's a follow up to this!

Spend more money on supporting well

[delsanez · 6/10 · 27 December 2022]

10 minutes and 15 seconds and bam slap. My name is Lt. Killian well they got the name of your character correct because your killing the movie with your so called acting. Haven't watched passed that but if it's an indication of whats to come well damn Tyrese, Terence and Jeremy are going to do some really good acting and some good action scenes to make up for his and the other guards because their acting SUCKS. Not all the guards acting needs help not all the guards but most of the ones with speaking parts and damn even some of the inmates acting was far from acting seemed more like some middle school kids play acting.

Prison Fight Club

[nogodnomasters · 3/10 · 13 November 2022]

Terry Savage (Tyrese Gibson) Is a special ops war veteran having a hard time making a living in a thriving economy with two openings for every person. He opts to rob a drug dealer to make his money. He gets caught and faces 10 years for armed robbery. He cuts a deal where he will go into an evil Republican backed (movies' words not mine) corporate prison to see if they are doing something crooked and get evidence to shut them down. We meet the likeable warden (Jeremy Piven) who introduces Terry to the prison fight club and drug operation. In order to get his freedom he must fight a huge Mr. T looking guy with gold chains.

The opening scenes opted to use a jerky camera that was not level for effect. It gave me a headache. The plot was predictable and the acting failed to bring the script to life. It failed to create the intended drama and intensity especially with a one punch fight. The warden's throne in the fight room looked stupid. No character introduction for the main actor.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

Utterly terrible

[bmcd126 · 1/10 · 7 January 2024]

From the terrible script, to the horrible acting, to cramming every cliche known to man, this movie is complete garbage. Nothing seemed normal or believable about this film. Don't waste your time on it. Felt like it was written by a teenager that loves rap music and the only thing they know about prison was learned by watching terrible prison movies from the 80s. If I could have given this movie 0 stars I would have.

From the terrible script, to the horrible acting, to cramming every cliche known to man, this movie is complete garbage. Nothing seemed normal or believable about this film. Don't waste your time on it. Felt like it was written by a teenager that loves rap music and the only thing they know about prison was learned by watching terrible prison movies from the 80s. If I could have given this movie 0 stars I would have.

When did all these actors lose their talent

[Anastasia97 · 3/10 · 15 August 2023]

Pivens should explore other careers His talent is gone This film was a waste Why do these s...t for brain directors get to make such atrocious films? I wander who is laundering money for these nauseating movies. Just disgusting. The plot is s...t, acting is s...t, nothing in this film makes sense or has any connections to the real world. Especially when Gibson d....b ass lawyer got him out of prison the next day. It was laughable Who is the audience for these ridiculous laughable movies. Pivens looks like he was high the whole movie. Please someone tell this director to seek employment in Taco Bell.

Hope you can lip read!

[nootnravz · 2/10 · 22 August 2023]

This movie was spoilt by the music and sound effects - they are way too high on nearly every scene and you can barely make out what actors are saying half the time.

Had good actors in it but the whole thing was ruined by the excessive audio. The lighting also made actors look jaundice.

I think the story was good but and acting was alright but the budget was obviously blown on the actors and they must have cut corners with everything.

Managed to watch the whole movie though and just guessed what people were saying as most times the audio shrouded over the actors which is a shame because it seemed good.

It was so bad I thought it was a comedy!

[big-tuna-685-563063 · 3/10 · 27 July 2023]

This movie left me wondering if I was supposed to take it serious or if it was intentionally mocking prison and action movies? I found myself laughing out loud several times either because of the lousy acting by Jeremy Pevin as the warden, or the absurd scenarios laid out by the director and writers. What warden would put himself in a "dungeon" with a bunch of convicts and encourage them to fight with just one guard by his side and nothing between him and the inmates but a few guards? Also, his interraction with the inmates was odd. He seemed to be reasoning with them all the time, and when he did finally get forceful with them, he came off as weak imo. I don't know if it was the actor chosen, the director, or the writer, or all of the above, but that was the worst portrayal of a warden in all of the prison movies I have seen to date. I gave it a 3 out of 10 only because of the acting by Terrance Howard and Tyrese Gibson. They were the only reason I watched this movie. In the end, I wish I wouldn't have wasted my time, because they were unable to carry this poorly executed prison flick.

silly action movie goes political in the first six minutes

[TomV196112 · 1/10 · 1 February 2023]

Why do filmmakers often choose to include political themes and viewpoints in their productions, even when it may potentially alienate half of their audience due to its political bias? The depiction of Republicans being blamed for the city's problems in the movie is both inaccurate and biased, as Republicans are no longer elected in large cities, making it feel more like a political advertisement than a movie.

Furthermore, the depiction of professional wrestling in the ghetto is a unique concept, but the execution falls short. The acting is average, but the stunts are performed adequately.

Overall, this movie does not live up to its potential and is not a recommended viewing choice. The political bias and lack of clear creative vision detract from what could have been an entertaining movie experience.

Set him free

[kosmasp · 6/10 · 7 October 2023]

No pun intended - I reckon outside the Fast and Furious franchise there is not much to do for Tyrese. But if you don't mind the bash your skulls in the prison type of movies (Undisputed is having an edge obviously to this) ... you probably won't be too disappointed! Yes even Jeremy Piven seems to phone it in (I really like the guy, but he is so underwhelming), but like the story, the acting takes a back seat! Way back seat actually.

That all said, the action is more than decently choreographed. This may have "sound issues" as someone else suggested (though confined to the dialog), but that too along the script are not the main reasons you would want to watch this anyway. A few good actors thrown in - or at least ones you will recognize and you have a throwback to the 90s that you might like - style wise that is. Just suspend your disbelief and go with the flow - don't let anyone put you in the (prison) corner ...

Hard Times Behind Bars!!!

[zardoz-13 · 5/10 · 19 March 2023]

"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.

Tyrese in action!!!!

[danica-liles · 10/10 · 10 November 2022]

If you're a Tyrese Gibson fan, I believe you would agree that he did a fantastic job! I decided to watch this movie not only because of Tyrese but the writer and director, Dallas Jackson has brought some high quality films in the past to the industry! I highly recommend if you are looking for something different and not the typical undercover agent movies. Of course, it's not for everybody but I am a die hard fan of Tyrese, drama, military, and agent type styles films, so in my opinion, it's definitely worth seeing especially if you love Tyrese as much as I do. Also, writing action pack films is not easy so that's why I rated it a 10!

Generic Movie done better

[mssobieski · 2/10 · 7 January 2024]

Dude this was so bad. 1. The acting is subpar at best, Terrance Howard seems to just repeat the same lines and have the same face for like 90% of the movie.

2. The plot makes zero sense. No really, I can't explain it well because its not really explainable? They want him to "expose" the crime going on but its so utterly blatant they don't need him to be in prison to prove whats happening? Like, everyone in the prison knows.... 3. Its like a combination of various 90's movies, but they mis-mash their plots together so you don't really have a cohesive 90 minute story.

So much just doesn't make sense.

Go watch literally any other "guy gets put in prison for a death match" movie and it is better than this. Even the fight scenes were awful.

Cameos .. wow!

[joeyford-55342 · 5/10 · 1 September 2023]

Jeremy Piven was unrecognizable. Wow. Terance Howard popped up. Again, wow. Standard script. Watching these former A-listers bring the whole movie up a star was fun. Gibson is not a leading man. He mumbles and poses his way through. Just not a very good movie. Found myself checking email and surfing while it was droning on. The fact an inmate carries a cell phone around for an hour was not beyond me. The fact all the bad guys were white and all the heroes were black was not missed. Just a paint by numbers, straight to DVD and streaming movie about a former soldier who gets into trouble and has to go underground. Meh.

Get the military info right next time.

[charles-haneyjr · 3/10 · 6 January 2024]

Okay my name is Sgt Haney and 5 years in the service, what this movie shows is dumb. The main character is a decorated special forces soldier trust me when I say they know how to fight and win. Then of course there is all the bad acting. My kids high school plays had better acting. But you know you can blame the actors. If the director lets it pass as okay then it's on them. Then you have the seen from a mile away plot twist. Everyone is trapped in prison with no way out and the cops on the outside are secretly in on it. Then the crazy riot and police raid of the prison all at the same time and set him free. With more bad acting.

A little bit of it all

[nicolea-57990 · 10/10 · 20 July 2023]

First of all the above reviews are funny. This film was interesting as it had drama action and comedy. It talked about the justice system and humanity. Prison movies typically don't go this route the better men came out on top and Word was Bond. Black and brown men are not normally portrayed as sensual human beings, but as villains and less than adequate personas. Jeremy was hilarious. Terrance was soft yet stern and Tyrese looked nice not playing a goofy personality lol. Loved it Dallas I see what you did here with the main characters and the plot. There should have been better advertising I just got informed about this film. People open your mind see the picture for what it is and what message it correlates with.