Review of Escape from New York (1981) by Klay F — 08 Jul 2010
"Snake Plissken? I thought you were dead!" That is approximately the entire backstory we are given to the protagonist of Carpenter's "Escape from New York.".
Its an achievement in filmmaking, but I'm not sure what exactly it has achieved. "Escape" is a brainless action movie masquerading as a dystopic/post-apocalyptic science fiction piece with a little alternative history thrown in. Don't be mistaken, the sci-fi and post apocalyptia contribute little more than the setting and motivation, the plot is squarely focused on Snake and his quest to return the President from the hands of prisoners and earn his freedom.
The quest itself is easily the life of the movie, however, with Plissken running into a wide cast of colorful characters who have varying degrees of antagonism towards Snake and none of whom are trustworthy. In a world full of bad guys, the reason you root for snake is that he's the nicest, while simultaneously being the baddest. Kurt Russel is perfect for this role, allowing his character moments of reflection yet never dropping the gruff, impenetrable exterior. "impenetrable" is almost a literal term applied here, as Snake survives dozens of assaults on his person and comes out with relatively minor injuries.
As I said before, the quest is the fun here. The movie is paced at an ideal rate to allow each character their fair amount of screentime but also to keep the audience from getting bored. The only one who I felt didn't have enough to do was Lee Van Cleef, but his presence is so overwhelming (second only to Kurt's) he by himself gives this movie a reason to exist. A truly great performance and a great foil for Plissken's overbearing machisimo.
The other great thing about this movie is the scenery and cinematography. They really sell the idea of a New York city turned maximum security prison, and populated by freaks of all natures. Watching Snake navigate this treacherous world is, again, worth the price of admission.
Of course, there's some glaring flaws. Poor writing abounds, and the plot is so minimalistic you might just forget exactly what the point of it all is, if it even has one. The sheer force of Russel's personality almost suffices to fill these wholes, but he can't hide the fact that this is an action movie, with very little else to give it depth.
All in all, sit back and enjoy the ride, maybe try to make some sense of it, and always bet on Snake.
This review of Escape from New York (1981) was written by Klay F on 08 Jul 2010.
Escape from New York has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
