Mikael Håfström’s Escape Plan (2013) Movie Review
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Caviezel, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, Amy Ryan
Director: Mikael Håfström
Censor Certificate: A
Run-Time: 117 Minutes
Watched at “PVR Cinemas”, Hyderabad
“It takes three things to escape a prison: know the layout, know the routine and have inside and/or outside help.”
Roy Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) works for FBP (Federal Bureau of Prisons) and their clients pay them to investigate whether their prisons are escapable or not. Roy mastered all three routines and has been escaping out of prisons from last seven years for living. Meanwhile, Breslin gets an offer from a private prison TOMB which is totally different from all others. Only problem if you enter this tomb you aren’t just serving a sentence, you are banished from the existence. Abigail (Amy Ryan) and Hush (50 Cent) follow some protocols like having an evacuation code & placing a tracking device in him. But with this client Breslin & Hush protocols backfired and he was left to enter the prison without any help.
As they took away Breslin’s outside help, he manages to find inside help. As soon as Breslin enters Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) takes a special interest in Breslin and automatically friends him. Warden Hobbes (Jim Caviezel), who referred Breslin’s book to design the tomb, is very strict with his moves and oversees every movement in the prison. His work was to make sure Breslin stays in the prison for ever. Hobbs puts Breslin through strong torture to make him break. Will Breslin make out of this maximum security privately funded prison? How did Breslin find his source of inspiration at prison? Forms the rest of the crux of the story.
Escape Plan would have been biggest movie releasing in the world twenty years ago, with two top action stars in lead. But this is twenty first century not early nineties to impress us with a long, dull and predictable script.
* Let’s start off with the title design it has very casual font you would have seen in the side of green lantern.
* A movie starring Schwarzenggar & Stallone that’s at least attempting to offer some ruder fights. But Escape plan is very polite and so much of the time it feels like real disappointment.
* The most surprising character in the film is seeing Sam Neill (Jurassic Park and The Piano fame) again after a long time. But still he gets to work alongside big dinosaurs (this time its TOMB and Hobbs Team).
* The concept of escaping from an inescapable prison is always interesting, but here good deal of elements going on but nothing terribly interesting. It has even got enough potholes to give your brain suspension failure.
* The super high tech prison reminds us of Monster pods in Cabin of Woods. The prison was supposed look high tech and inescapable but it just feels like a rehashed version.
“You hit like a Vegetarian” – Arnold Schwarzengger
Both the actors Stallone and Schwarzenegger gives the film high dose to energy. But neither of actors puts their trademark into this film that will make fans pleased to say that they have saw a film with Stallone and Schwarzengger in lead. Jim Caviezel did a great job as psycho warden Jim Hobbs. The supporting cast is made up of an impressive array of strong actors. Unfortunately, they are mostly wasted as very minor background characters.
Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom allows the lead cast have some fun. There are one or two good twists but many are bad ones. A bit of trimming would have contoured this film. Music director Alex Heffes BGM reminds us of various films like Bourne, Mission Impossible. Cinematography by Brendan Galvin is neat. On the whole, Escape Plan has a decent prison break concept. The only problem is Schewarzenegger and Stallone can’t carry a movie by themselves without any promising script work. Stallone’s Bullet to the Head & Schwarzengger’s The Last Stand are far better movies when compared to Escape Plan. Wait for DVD.
Survi Review: 2/5
Theatrical Trailer:
Recent Comments