I remember first seeing this movie back when it was released in 1998. My expectations of it weren't too high, because at the time I did not think that Andy Garcia was that much of an actor.
However, I was pleasantly surprised that the movie was as entertaining as it turned out. Michael Keaton, as the villain, really carried this picture, reminiscent of his performance in the second Batman movie. So, you may now be wondering why I only gave it a 6 ...
The plot was in my estimation a little weak. That is to say ... you take a psychopathic killer whose profile shows that he will be hell bent on escaping, and yet no real provisions were made to prevent said escape from a very 'escapable' facility! That made the show a bit far-fetched for me, giving the 'humanitarian sacrifice' of the criminal the benefit of the doubt.
Other than that, the action sequences, and pacing of the movie was very tight with very few slow parts - even for the emotional scenes featuring Andy Garcia's character and his terminally-ill son. Even the sequel-friendly ending was not all that bad in my book.
However, I was pleasantly surprised that the movie was as entertaining as it turned out. Michael Keaton, as the villain, really carried this picture, reminiscent of his performance in the second Batman movie. So, you may now be wondering why I only gave it a 6 ...
The plot was in my estimation a little weak. That is to say ... you take a psychopathic killer whose profile shows that he will be hell bent on escaping, and yet no real provisions were made to prevent said escape from a very 'escapable' facility! That made the show a bit far-fetched for me, giving the 'humanitarian sacrifice' of the criminal the benefit of the doubt.
Other than that, the action sequences, and pacing of the movie was very tight with very few slow parts - even for the emotional scenes featuring Andy Garcia's character and his terminally-ill son. Even the sequel-friendly ending was not all that bad in my book.