Review of Escape Plan (2013) by Sean P — 15 Feb 2014

Escape Plan casts two of the most nostalgic and recognizable action stars from the 80's/90's and sits them across the table from the other. This play for nostalgia has been done a few times in recent history (see Expendables/Red 1 and 2), and while Stallone has played more prominant or leading roles in more cases than not, Schwarzenegger moves from bit cameos to supporting player this time around. Fortunately both are surrounded by a decent script and a blueprint for a good movie.

There is a reason Stallone is anchored by more screen time and leading roles. He is a bonafide actor. There is a certain lopsided give and take that represents itself in Escape Plan, which attempts to place itself as something half intelligent. While Schwarzeneggar is lifted by Stallone's strengths, Stallone likewise gets pulled down a bit. The question, at least for me when watching this film is whether it can achieve a sort of balance, and further whether the chemistry could fuel the mix to keep it from falling in to complete mediocrity. I think it pulls enough in the positive direction to make this entertaining and interesting enough to be worthy of a view. Schwarzeneggar keeps himself subtly reserved while Stallone carries more of the emotional presence. The whole prison break scenario comes with a sort of automatic thrill factor that flows in a workable fashion, and the additional supporting characters add rather than detract. If the film can point to a factor of success, it should be that as a viewer I was able to forget about the nostalgia for at least a few intervals.