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With: Tyrese Gibson, Terrence Howard, Jeremy Piven, Laura Aleman, Marrese Crump, Ric Reitz, Lil Yachty, Caleb Spillyards, Hawk Walts, Artrial Clark, David Joseph Martinez, Arielle Prepetit
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Written by: Dallas Jackson
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Directed by: Dallas Jackson
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MPAA Rating: R for violence, language throughout and some drug material
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Running Time: 98
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Date: 10/28/2022
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Punch Meat
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
Ranging from preachy to lazy to flat-out ridiculous, this prison-fight drama benefits from committed work by Gibson and Howard, but they can't overcome saggy storytelling and uninspired filmmaking.
Highly decorated former Marine Terry Savage (Tyrese Gibson) has been forced to rob a drug dealer to pay for hospital bills for his dangerously ill daughter. He's caught and goes to prison, but the Commissioner (Ric Reitz) offers him a deal. If he goes to a special private prison and captures evidence of human rights violations, he will be released. Once there, he is forced to fight to defend himself.
Warden Lucas (Jeremy Piven) recruits him for a series of secret Friday night fights called "The Dungeon." He is assigned a trainer, Bones (Terrence Howard), to show him the ropes. After a few bouts, Terry learns that the Warden's corruption and lies go much deeper than expected. He decides on a dangerous plan to change things and, hopefully, get back to his daughter.
The System offers much commentary — all of it searingly relevant — on the deep corruption, exploitation, and racism of the prison system, but inserts all of it into pockets of awkward expositional dialogue. It sounds irritating rather than inspirational. On the other side, the Dungeon fights are like a cheap parody of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, all of which look like they were all filmed on the same day.
During these, an overacting Piven literally sits on a throne and shouts "come on!" in a Southern accent, while a comical fight announcer (rapper Lil Yachty) makes needless comments ("Welcome to the Dungeon!"), and a happy Little Person is there only to ding the round bells and occasionally fist-bump the warden.
Some things are just not very smart, such as a cell phone that the Commissioner has left for Savage in the apparently impenetrable prison, which Savage uses throughout without anyone ever noticing. Not to mention that overarching plot threads — such as the warden offering to bring Savage in on the prison's secret drug business — make absolutely no sense. Finally, everything in The System ties up a little too neatly given how complex the problem is.
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