A callback to the old school actions flick of the 80's and 90's, Escape Plan delivers the team up action fans have waiting for years, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, delivering something a lot meatier than their limited screen time in both The Expendable movies. It's exactly the type of project you would expect from the pair, over the top and light on plot, but by wanting to be a movie from over two decades ago, director Mikael Håfström does at least give us a very entertaining ride.
Ray Breslin (Stallone) breaks out of prisons for a living, reporting back to those in charge and revealing the cracks in their security. His latest job finds him in The Tomb (the movie's original title), a mysterious, off the books prison that is practically escape proof. Arriving there, he finds that he has been set up, those behind it wanting to make sure he never sees the light of day again. Teaming up with fellow prisoner Rottmeyer (Schwarzenegger), Breslin embarks on a plan that seems impossible: escape from The Tomb.
Sure, everything about the Escape Plan's plot is preposterous, but everybody involved seems to be having a blast, that you find yourself overlooking it and just be caught up in it all. It moves at a pretty solid pace, wasting no time in getting Breslin into The Tomb. From then on, the movie is all set up for the third act escape attempt, which contains most, if not all, of the action. Sure, the finale features Arnie hefting a machine gun, in slow motion no less, that will have any action fan squealing in delight, but it's in the planning of the escape that the movie has the most fun, Breslin coming up with the plan, and Rottmeyer getting what he needs. It does become very predictable, but the script delivers a clever twist at the end that puts some more eye rolling plot details in a new light. Stallone takes the serious hero role here, letting Schwarzenegger's character be tinged with a bit more comedy. The two play off each other nicely, delivering some nice exchanges that will elicit a few chuckles. Arnie has an absolute blast in the role. Be it telling Sly he "punches like a vegertarian" or rambling like a mad man in Austrian, you can see he is having a lot of fun, pulling most of the weight in the pairing the movie is sold on, with Stallone feeling like he phoned it in at times.
Hafstrom has done a good job here, crafting a well paced story, though at times it cuts to Breslin's team (Amy Ryan and Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson) searching for him, which takes you out of the movie somewhat, and really adds nothing to the plot. He also handles action very well, again relying on old school techniques, like practical effects, delivering some satisfying set pieces. The other actors do their best to try and get out of the lead pair's sizable shadows, with Jim Caviezel putting in a great performance as the soft spoken, smarmy Warden Hobbs. He relishes the role, and sparks off our heroes extremely well. Vinnie Jones is Vinnie Jones, but the biggest waste has to go to Sam Neil. His role is relatively small, and thrown away quite quickly. You just know he would have delivered a much better performance if he was given some more to do.
An entertaining old school actioner, Escape Plan caters to those who like their action movies big, loud, and muscle bound. Not without it's problems, there is a lot to like here, namely the pairing of two action greats, who prove that they may have gotten older but they still have it.
Ray Breslin (Stallone) breaks out of prisons for a living, reporting back to those in charge and revealing the cracks in their security. His latest job finds him in The Tomb (the movie's original title), a mysterious, off the books prison that is practically escape proof. Arriving there, he finds that he has been set up, those behind it wanting to make sure he never sees the light of day again. Teaming up with fellow prisoner Rottmeyer (Schwarzenegger), Breslin embarks on a plan that seems impossible: escape from The Tomb.
Sure, everything about the Escape Plan's plot is preposterous, but everybody involved seems to be having a blast, that you find yourself overlooking it and just be caught up in it all. It moves at a pretty solid pace, wasting no time in getting Breslin into The Tomb. From then on, the movie is all set up for the third act escape attempt, which contains most, if not all, of the action. Sure, the finale features Arnie hefting a machine gun, in slow motion no less, that will have any action fan squealing in delight, but it's in the planning of the escape that the movie has the most fun, Breslin coming up with the plan, and Rottmeyer getting what he needs. It does become very predictable, but the script delivers a clever twist at the end that puts some more eye rolling plot details in a new light. Stallone takes the serious hero role here, letting Schwarzenegger's character be tinged with a bit more comedy. The two play off each other nicely, delivering some nice exchanges that will elicit a few chuckles. Arnie has an absolute blast in the role. Be it telling Sly he "punches like a vegertarian" or rambling like a mad man in Austrian, you can see he is having a lot of fun, pulling most of the weight in the pairing the movie is sold on, with Stallone feeling like he phoned it in at times.
Hafstrom has done a good job here, crafting a well paced story, though at times it cuts to Breslin's team (Amy Ryan and Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson) searching for him, which takes you out of the movie somewhat, and really adds nothing to the plot. He also handles action very well, again relying on old school techniques, like practical effects, delivering some satisfying set pieces. The other actors do their best to try and get out of the lead pair's sizable shadows, with Jim Caviezel putting in a great performance as the soft spoken, smarmy Warden Hobbs. He relishes the role, and sparks off our heroes extremely well. Vinnie Jones is Vinnie Jones, but the biggest waste has to go to Sam Neil. His role is relatively small, and thrown away quite quickly. You just know he would have delivered a much better performance if he was given some more to do.
An entertaining old school actioner, Escape Plan caters to those who like their action movies big, loud, and muscle bound. Not without it's problems, there is a lot to like here, namely the pairing of two action greats, who prove that they may have gotten older but they still have it.
