Review of Escape Plan (2013) by Mitchell B — 21 Sep 2014

Escape Plan proves that Arnold and Stallone still have some life left in them in terms of their careers as action stars. The film has an interesting enough premise, great casting, and some decent action. So it pretty much has nearly everything you would want from an action popcorn film like this. However, there are some missteps the film makes, but it does not outright ruin the film. This film definitely will not win any awards, but that is not the aim for a film like this. Escape Plan's primary goal is to entertain and, in my opinion, it succeeded.

The story is fairly simple, but that is not always a bad thing. Many times with action films when they try to make the plot overly complicated it can make what could have been a good action film into a boring and lackluster one. The film stars a man named Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) who is a famous escape artist. He is known for breaking out of high security prisons that are deemed in-escapable. However, he is framed and put into a prison that he indirectly helped to design. To escape he has to team up with a small group of inmates, mainly a man named Emil (Arnold Schwarzenegger).

The acting is fine for what it is. You do not go to movie like this for Oscar-worthy performances. Stallone does alright, although whenever he tries to sound like he is super intelligent and explain complex science it comes off a little funny. I buy Stallone as a scientist as much as I bought Arnold as a scientist in the movie Junior. The movie even acknowledges it, but it is still silly. However, I have to admit, this is probably one of Arnold's better performances in a long time. Yes, he does spam the one-liners a lot, but he also tries other forms of acting besides being the badass (which he is in the film). There are many points were Arnold's character is put in many terrible positions and shows much vulnerability and emotion. This is the first time in a while where Arnold is put in such a vulnerable position. It is not going to win any awards, but I thought it was pretty good for Arnold. Sam Neil also appears in a small role, which I like. I am glad that the man is still getting some, though I wish I could have seen more of him.

The film has some good production value. You can tell that the film has a budget and the money is on the screen. I do not know how the 3D was because I only saw it in 2D. The film also has some pretty decent action, though most of it comes at the end. There is some action in the beginning and middle but it is few and far between. It is mostly Arnold and Stallone plotting their escape. This film does not have wall-to-wall action, which some people might be disappointed about.

There some issues with the film as I mentioned earlier. Firstly, the villains are not that strong. The main villain of the film, Hobbes, is horrible. He is played by Jim Caviezel or as I like to call non-Matthew Fox (Jack Shepard from Lost). It seemed like he was trying to channel Bob Gunton from Shawshank Redemption, and it does not work at all. Caviezel either overacts his lines or underacts them. Secondly, there is a twist by the end of the film that you see coming a mile away. Even the film acknowledged that it was a pretty obvious twist.

Overall, Escape plan was an entertaining escape/action film, as well as a good time at the movies. It was nice to see Arnold and Stallone working together in a film outside of the Expendables. The film does have good production value and some decent action at the end. If you are a fan of Arnold, Stallone, or both then check this out.