Escape Plan [Movie Review]

This was not the movie I was expecting.

My expectations were simple: Action, nonsense, and violence. I got those, but I also got a lot more. I went in expecting a way to just go mindless for two hours, instead I actually got a character driven movie.


 Pleasantly surprised. Very surprised actually.

Stallone, Schwarzenegger, the Plan.

The simple story is that Ray Breslin (Stallone) is part owner of a company (Breslin-Clark) that specializes in breaking out of maximum security prisons and reporting back to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Which, yes, is real if you didn't know.

Breslin does that actual breakouts himself, with a small crew. He's smart, observant, and has successfully escaped from 14 Federal Penitentiaries.

I swear I've seen these faceless guards someplace else.

Jesus dresses up well in a suit and tie.

However a new job comes his way...

A supposedly escape proof prison, designed to incarcerate undesirables that any government might simply want disappeared. Breslin's job is to escape from it. However from the very start of the mission things go wrong.

And I'll stop there. I hate spoiling movies, or series, or games. Introductions are fine,

This movie was unexpected because it was so character driven. Characters develop, you learn about them, and the big moments in the movie play off of character interaction and not gun play.

Watching as Breslin studies the prisons is both interesting and engaging. They are not action packed moments, but they draw you in. You are figure it out as he figures it out. It's fun.

And the supporting actors are excellent.  

Sam Neill plays a doctor who is struggling in the prison environment.
Faran Tahir plays a Muslim named Javed. His role is surprising, and very well done.

Sam Neill. Last thing I saw him in was the Tudors.

Now, with all that said, the movie does have some faults. The sad part is that they really come at the end. There were two major Only in Hollywood moments, the first is of course 'Gasoline Does Not Do That,' and the second is a 'Shoot the Rope' situation. Oh, and the third, but honestly lesser offense, 'Shooting the Lock.' There were some predictable parts, and some good humor based off of that. Honestly, Schwarzenegger's final line (or near enough) was an excellent jab. But those were fine.

The movie was well paced, engaging, funny at the right times, and serious at others. But the best part was the social commentary. By now, if you've been reading my blog you know how much of a sucker I am for social commentary. This one covers two major issues: For Profit Prisons, and Disappearing.

I find for profit prisons to be disgusting. I'm not going into it because that is not what this blog is about. Suffice to say though, that this shows an extreme example of the problems with a for profit system.

And the issue of the Disappeared. These Forced Disappearances have occurred several times through modern history, and I believe the term may have been coined in Argentina in the late 70s early 80s (los desaparecidos). This is a dark and dirty act taken by a state to remove, often totally remove, an unwanted person. In Argentina they drugged people, loaded them aboard planes or helicopters, and dumped them, still alive, in the Atlantic where they forever disappeared. There is talk of being 'disappeared' in Escape Plan. I'll let you draw your own conclusions about how it is involved.

Still, I love a good movie with social commentary.

Will I get it on DVD. No, probably not. It's not exactly a movie that I would watch over and over. But it was still worth seeing once.I had a hard time actually deciding between 3 and 3.5 Stars for this movie. It was better than the Lone Ranger which I gave 3.0 Stars to, but worse than Elysium which I gave 3.5 Stars to. Thus is the limits of a 5 Star system. I decided to go lower because of the fact that I will not be getting it to watch on DVD or BD. I might get Elysium someday.

Therefore the final score I give to Escape Plan is:

3.0 Stars