At the Theater - "Escape Plan" - Although it should prove to be a passable action/prison flick for most, fans of aging action icons Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzennegger may see Escape Plan as a golden opportunity squandered in a decidedly quick and efficient, relatively lower-budgeted entry in their respective careers. This tale of a structural engineer (Stallone) who has dedicated his life in testing the security of prisons across the country only to be sold out and locked away inside the secretive, state of the art confines of "The Tomb" (this less generic moniker should have been the film's title) is filmed well and isn't necessarily stupid, though the dialogue's a bit crude and the narrative takes a helluva long time to fully ignite- by the time it does, the credits are pretty much rolling. A noticeable production gloss and the two (once upon a time) commanding leads would be the only elements separating this film from a wealth of standard DTV action fare- it's a frog's hair above Sly and Arnie's most average, middling entries. I liked it, but was hoping for something far more thrilling or weighted.
Stallone's Ray Breslin is the film's main character, with Sly breezing through the role as the lockup Houdini specialist until he finds himself Shanghied into a situation he wasn't expecting and locked away inside one of the strange, cubular glass prison cells wich make up The Tomb. Realizing that he's mysteriously been double-crossed and unable to communicate with his outside handlers, he immediately finds himself on the Warden's (Jim Caviezel) bad side. Breslin decides he's going to need some inside help on escaping this particular establishment and enlists the aid of the enigmatic prisoner, "Rottmayer" (Schwarzennegger).
I had hoped that the introduction of Schwarzenneger's character would have sparked some kind of much needed momentum, but Director Mikael Hafstrom, along with Screenwriters Miles Chapman and Jason Keller fail to fully capitalize on the occasion. Schwarzennegger does manage to steal the film outright, effectively chewing scenery and providing some much needed levity with the film's more humorous moments- I loved a scene in which Arnie draws a map for the warden, while most of the Austrian's fans will enjoy an 11th hour "unleashing" that find him blasting away a horde of bad guys with one of those big fucking machine guns his characters were so familiar with long ago. A scene in which Scharzennegger slips into his native tongue in an effort to distract our main villain is admittedly left-field, though pretty damned fresh territory for the actor.
Jim Caviezel (CBS's Person Of Interest) is ultimately miscast as "The Tomb's" cold and calculated Warden "Hobbes"- I'm a fan of the actor but realized his third act "fracturing" as being forced and unnatural, indicative of an actor out of his natural element. A more seasoned actor familiar with the action genre would have been more appropriate here- let's say, Ed Harris, maybe...
Vincent D'Onofrio (Men In Black) is Breslin's opportunistic business partner while Amy Ryan (Gone Baby Gone) is prettier than I ever remember her as Sly's co-worker and potential love interest in a relationship that never really reaches first base. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson is pretty clunky as the ex-con computer hacker working for their organization.
Former professional footballer Vinnie Jones (Snatch) is the prison's Chief Security officer and Hobbe's right hand enforcer, "Drake". A climactic fight scene between Stallone and Jones is disappointingly undercooked. Faran Tahir (Iron Man) is yet another heavyweight figure inside the prison, a Muslim drug trafficker who aides in the escape. Rounding out the notable cast is Sam Neill (Dead Calm) in a criminally wasted turn as The Tomb's conflicted Physician. He's an actor I always enjoy seeing pop up in films who deserves more starring roles.
I found myself wishing that the film would veer off into either more frenetic or profound territory- committing to scenes in which these older stars would simply go ballistic on the compound or either spend time reflecting on their respective ages and the reality of being older (like the scene between Pam Grier and Robert Forster in 1997's Jackie Brown). For better and worse, it stays the course with a leisurely pace.
I do find it funny how there would be a convenient "ventilation" shaft, complete with ladder, below a solitary confinement cell. A CGI tackon involving the death of a villainous sort is cheap and unnecessary. Expect a couple of fistfights and explosions, an obligatory stabbing with a shiv, a climactic shootout aboard a tanker and a twist at film's end revealing a character's true nature.
I'm a fan of both of Escape Plan's 60-something headliners and found myself looking around at an empty theater mere days after it's wide release- I couldn't help but reflect on how things have changed since I was a kid... getting older, to the world at large, apparently translates into being less relevant and less cool. Hollywood and changing audience sensibilities (most of them not for the better) have nearly prevailed in killing off the larger-than-life action stars that defined my childhood. Potential viewers could do far worse with their time and money spent watching manufactured pretty boys that are half these guys' ages and with zero presence to speak of (Channing Tatum and Jamie Foxx in White House Down, anyone?) run around and play pretend, but what kind of fun would that level of ridiculousness be? Escape Plan is a serviceable enough action jaunt that spins it's wheels too much in guilty pleasure territory, though Arnie and Sly still command presence in a charismatic, believable fashion.
Here's to looking forward to The Expendables 3 in 2014...
7.0 out of 10
Director: Mikael Hafstrom
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Curtis Jackson, Vinnie Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio, Amy Ryan, Sam Neill and Faran Tahir
Running Time: 116 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated R for violence and language throughout
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