Lockout

I loved Guy Pearce as snow, he was the perfect mix of quippy and action hero. The supporting characters were well cast and well acted. The storyline itself was unique and interesting and had a solid twist ending. The cinematography was well done on the still shots, but the CGI scenes played out weird. The main characters were lacking a bit of chemistry. But overall a solid action movie.

First off, Lockout is not meant to be taken seriously. It is a fun action sci-fi movie that breaks the boundaries of what it physically possible. Remember when you were a kid playing with your little action figures in the sandbox, well that is how they designed Lockout. They forgot about what is real and what can actually be done and simply had fun.

Guy Pearce is hilarious and teamed up with Maggie Grace the laughs just keep rolling. It is an action, sci-fi, comedy that is amazingly well crafted if you can take your thinking cap off and just have fun. There are a few plot twists, but nothing you didn't see coming. While Lockout doesn't really bring anything completely new to the table, it is very entertaining and well worth multiple viewings.

Due to mixed reviews I did not expect much, but Lockout really impressed me with its style and fast paced action. Other reviews has said that the special effects looked terrible, that is simply because of the style. One thing Lockout has is style and solid direction and cinematography. They knew what they were doing with this movie and they pulled it off perfectly.

The PQ & AQ were great on Blu-ray and while the special features were lacking, it is still a solid Blu-ray release.

Recommended!

When I watched Lockout, I didn't even know it was from Luc Besson until I saw his name at the start of the movie. This got me excited remembering how I like his past films especially "The Fifth Element". Besson's films seem to have that unique polish and style that places them in a class between A and B movies. They always have some ludicrous scenes and effects included similar to B movies but they are definitely justified in the end by how much "Class A" fun and twists the overall experience it generates for the viewers. If we measure this movie on those aspects, Lockout is no different from Luc's other films although this one is special in a way that it brought back fond memories for people like me who were already actively seeing films like this back in the 80's and 90's. Lockout is a modern version of those films with some new concepts added from this era.

Some of the non-Besson films/TV series that Lockout reminded me of are Army of Darkness, Cowboy Bebop, Die Hard, Escape from New York, Fortress, Firefly / Serenity, Minority Report, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I can see that Lockout, like most of the other movies I previously specified, can also have a cult following. So I truly hope the current generation will like this movie enough to give it a chance to have a sequel. Sometimes, you just need to relax your mind and allow it just the right amount of activity to enjoy a fun cruise like this type of films can provide. More power to Mr. Besson!

The only reason I didn't rate this higher than 7 stars is a few scenes, especially the ending could have been done with more action. That being said if you don't enjoy this, you've either never seen a real action movie or are too high and might to take it for what it is. This is a homage to the old days, when action movies knew what they were and embraced it, those with knowledge of the old days should recognize most homages instantly. Guy Pearce was a good lead for this, was he perfect? No I could think of a few guys who could do the role but it worked. Pearce stars as Snow...a chain smoking, hard nosed , wise cracking ex-special agent with one chance to regain his freedom. The movie is worth watching for the banter alone, it's constant and it's funny. There are some very nice action scenes, I expect no less from a guy like Luc Besson. However my main complaints are from a lack of brutality, an R rated movie centering around a prison riot should have plenty of that. My other complaint is the most memorable villain in the movie didn't get a very memorable send off. Overall I've watched this twice now and will again, take it for what it is. A homage to the old school action heroes, in that sense the film is near perfect

I believe that the enjoyment of a movie is directly proportional among other to your beforehand expectations about it. So with that in mind, let me tell you about this movie; It has a completely unoriginal story, terrible special effects and acting that will never be considered, even in a slow movie year, Oscar wordy. In short it's an action / science fiction that should leave you empty.

Yet, it is not boring, quite the contrary. It has a very special 'Je ne sais quoi' to it. I so wanted to use that in a review for which I want to apologies to you.

I enjoyed it more than most films I have seen this year. Perplexed to explain what makes it unique without spoiling it for you and considering my first sentence, I will say after much reflection, seeing it with very low expectations would be the best. It will allow you from the start to get into the world the directors are painting for you, couple that with a possession of a twisted sense of humor and you will find a gem of a movie in there.

In short, for what it is, it is a gem.