A distinct lack of action heroes in 2013 and the public's obsession with recreating nostalgic moments has meant that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone are very much in demand, 30 years after the peaks of their respective film careers. After the massively adored yet not very good Expendables, the pair return for Escape Plan, which as the title overtly suggests, focuses centrally on an escape plan. Hopefully this is a no-nonsense film that doesn't take itself too seriously or run too long, or I'll probably hatch an escape plan from the cinema....
Ray Breslin (Stallone) possibly has the worst job I've ever heard of: he intentionally becomes an inmate at various prisons and duly escapes, revealing the safety flaws each prison has and then selling them security tips to make a profit. In essence, he gets paid to stay in prison for numerous months at a time. Stallone doesn't really have any facial expressions in this film so it's hard to tell whether his character enjoys his life or not, or whether he even knows how to string a coherent sentence together. Anyway, soon enough Breslin is offered 5 MILLION dollars to be sent to a new secret prison and try to escape, but once arriving their he realises it's all a setup and he actually can't get out. Thus, he gains the help of inmate Emilt Rottmayer (Arnie) to try and escape using sheer strength and occasional flickers of intellect. The evil guards patrolling the hi-tech prison are led by former footballer Vinnie Jones, so it clearly won't be hard to escape.
This was an average film to put it nicely: it took itself far too seriously, and so the ridiculous plot and acting felt like a drag rather than the ironic parody it should have disguised itself as. Arnie and Stallone have their share of one-liners and gun battles, and even team up with Muslim inmates in the prison, as if to show they are representing a new, inclusive America. Brings a tear to my eye. Not to say it's a horrendous film, some of it was enjoyable, and the story goes along at a nice pace, but it just lacked that bit of you know....logic. Overall, it's not a film you would watch again, or even watch to the end, but if you're a fan of basic action films with no depth I'd probably recommend it.
4/10
Ray Breslin (Stallone) possibly has the worst job I've ever heard of: he intentionally becomes an inmate at various prisons and duly escapes, revealing the safety flaws each prison has and then selling them security tips to make a profit. In essence, he gets paid to stay in prison for numerous months at a time. Stallone doesn't really have any facial expressions in this film so it's hard to tell whether his character enjoys his life or not, or whether he even knows how to string a coherent sentence together. Anyway, soon enough Breslin is offered 5 MILLION dollars to be sent to a new secret prison and try to escape, but once arriving their he realises it's all a setup and he actually can't get out. Thus, he gains the help of inmate Emilt Rottmayer (Arnie) to try and escape using sheer strength and occasional flickers of intellect. The evil guards patrolling the hi-tech prison are led by former footballer Vinnie Jones, so it clearly won't be hard to escape.
This was an average film to put it nicely: it took itself far too seriously, and so the ridiculous plot and acting felt like a drag rather than the ironic parody it should have disguised itself as. Arnie and Stallone have their share of one-liners and gun battles, and even team up with Muslim inmates in the prison, as if to show they are representing a new, inclusive America. Brings a tear to my eye. Not to say it's a horrendous film, some of it was enjoyable, and the story goes along at a nice pace, but it just lacked that bit of you know....logic. Overall, it's not a film you would watch again, or even watch to the end, but if you're a fan of basic action films with no depth I'd probably recommend it.
4/10
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