Directed by:
Mikael HåfströmCinematography:
Brendan GalvinComposer:
Alex HeffesCast:
Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caviezel, Vinnie Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, 50 Cent, Amy Ryan, Caitríona Balfe, Sam Neill, Matt Gerald (more)VOD (3)
Plots(1)
Prison-break action film starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Structural security specialist Ray Breslin (Stallone) is paid to enter high security prisons and escape while highlighting weaknesses in their apparently escape-proof systems. But when he is framed and incarcerated in a prison of his own design which is run by the relentless Warden Hobbes (Jim Caviezel), he has to put his incomparable skills to the ultimate test. However, in order to escape this particular prison he'll need the help of another insider. Luckily he meets fellow prisoner and old-timer Swan Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger) who agrees to help Ray in his escape, but only if Ray agrees to free him while doing so... (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (12)
I wouldn't overstate it with the return. Stallone is far from the intensity of the new Rambo. This is neither a comedy, nor action-packed enough, nor a clever heist film. There are too many coincidences and it is too straightforward with various plot inserts that are too obvious and for effect. There is little action and you have to wait for it for a long time. There are a few solid scenes, but they don't raise the adrenaline as much as you would expect from an old action school flick, and that has nothing to do with the age of the protagonists, they are completely fine. Only the screenplay should have been much better – even in honor of the 80s B-movies. Jim Caviezel is brilliant.
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Futuretro and Sly who makes a lightbulb out of a bungee cord and even uses it to escape prison. Those were the first two feelings I had when I watched this movie. Truth be told, it wasn’t what I’d imagined. Especially the realism was completely off and I’d compare it to Demolition Man, only with one big difference; the lack of one-liners. Sly and Arnold are just acting tough rather than creating some sort of a laid-back atmosphere and emotions. And that’s basically the whole movie. The topic is really interesting when it comes to two action legends, but the director’s take was far too systematic. I didn’t really feel any heart in that. It doesn’t have one-liners, nothing that could elevate such a great idea to a level that could be called legendary. A shame.
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"You don't look that smart..." Indeed. It is a pity that the script realizes this only after it realizes that two wooden clubs will not produce an intellectual spark. A few of the situations are amusing, Arnie's religious Germanic frenzy is magical, but otherwise it’s a handful of poorly written and dully filmed situations that try to look smart here, dramatic there, but they rather flow by harmlessly (and arouse legitimate smiles). I have a feeling that a similar happening will work at high speed only on a wave of irony and playfulness. And the creators forgot to lock them up in the same prison. I don't know if I dreamed of meeting Sly and Arnie, but since I'm a fan of both, I would justifiably expect some greater emotion than the embarrassed smile on my face when Sly punched Arnie. It's gone. Oh well. [55%]
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"Say cheese!" I wanted to see these two gentlemen in a movie. But in a good movie, which Escape Plan unfortunately is not. Someone else playing the central duo would have been even worse, and by a lot. Stallone and Schwarzenegger get all the plus points - their friendship and the fun they had acting here is so obvious that one can't help but be pleased. Moreover, when they poke each other irresistibly now and then (with words and fists). But the rest of it... I know that it was not supposed to be a profound experience, but still, in the place where common sense resides, one's head is full of questions like "Damn, such a super-modern prison, with such old-fashioned solitary confinement cells, with a shaft and a ladder underneath?!?!?!" and "Were all those guards really that stupid that they allowed... and that they didn't notice that... and that they didn't care how..." etc. All of this brought the film down terribly and hurt it especially in the sense that when the finale (finally) broke out, I didn't have any concern whatsoever about any of the characters. I just stared blankly, chuckling now and then, waiting for some big moment (yes, Arnold and the machine gun). And then it was over and I went home from the movie theatre. At the same time, I was thinking that I probably should have watched Stallone's Lock Up, which Escape Plan is not nearly as good as. That’s too bad. Escape Plan shouldn't have pretended to try to be anything - that way it would have worked out better.
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B-movie; straightforward and entertaining, originally conceived and refreshed by two veteran icons who in their old age have become even more deeply aware of their role in a colossal movie marathon. But a B-movie nonetheless, predictable, with a stale, truncated and unsurprising plot (starting with the escape plan and ending with Arnie's final "asshole"), and it's more appropriate in this case than elsewhere to play the critic and point out that playing for fun is different from actually being fun. The biggest impression is left by the unpleasantly slimy James Caviezel, who perhaps has never been so good. 65%
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