Escape Plan (2013) (DVD Review)
Directed By: Mickael Hafstrom
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Jim Caviezil
Rated: R/Region: 1/Widescreen/Number of disc: 1
Available from Summit Inc/Lionsgate
Ray Breslin is the world’s foremost authority on structural security. After analyzing every high security prison and learning a vast array of survival skills so he can design escape-proof prisons, his skills are put to the test. He’s framed and incarcerated in a master prison he designed himself. He needs to escape and find the person who put him behind bars.
As a kid growing up partly in the 80s, I think the idea of getting Schwarzenegger and Stallone in a movie together was a great thing to imagine. Now we have had that a few times and while the magical idea of it might be starting to wear off a little, it works enough for this film to make you look away from the negatives and give the movie an overall pass. For this movie to really work you pretty much need to do what you had to do with action movies of the 80s and 90s and toss out all logic and reason. The film tries to be smart and does a few clever things, but realism gets pushed aside pretty quick. That, of course, is something you’d want in a movie starring these two action legends.
On top of the story of someone setting Sly up and him having to use the help of Arnold, we also have some pretty good comedic timing out of the two here. I think Schwarzenegger might be a step or two ahead with him funny antics in this one, but that only helps to make the film as watchable as it turns out to be. If I am to be perfectly honest, I figured this was a big stinker of a film going in, but I am happy to report that all things taken into consideration it isn’t that bad. This isn’t anyone who is in this things best work, but if you dig the genre overall, I’m more than sure you can dig this.
– Commentary
– Making of
