Évasion

Old school action thriller with some old school stars (finally) teaming up to break out of prison. This movie is also pretty much exactly what you'd expect from a Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger pairing except maybe fewer one liners and a decent script.

The story follows Sly as an incarcerated security expert (he literally wrote the book on prison security) whose last job sees him being sent to "The Tomb" a master prison based on of his own design but he's also been set up, imprisoned and disappeared for real. Now with the help of fellow inmate Emil (Arnie) Rottmayer, he must devise a daring, nearly impossible plan to escape as well as eluding the evil warden and his sadistic lead guard.

I enjoyed this movie for what it was, although more serious than I expected, I liked the look of the super prison -unique in that respect and I was very surprised by the location of it, didn't see that coming at all. A good story, a few twists, decent supporting cast in bad guy (done so well) Jim Caviezel, evil guard Vinnie Jones and brow beaten prison doctor Sam Neil. Decent action scenes from guys who can't run anymore, Arnie can still fire a machine gun like no one else though. Sly does some tricky water stunts and some hand to hand fight scenes, he gets pretty beat up and tortured here.

On that note I'm a huge Sly fan but as well as looking old here he also looks perpetually tired, like he's just about had enough of doing action movies. Arnie on the other hand was hilarious without even trying. I mean who else can make you laugh as they get water boarded? It was also great to hear him speaking German even it was mostly enraged swearing. 1/12/16

I did not expect that I'd like two over-the-hill action stars trying their hand at yet another action movie. Surprisingly, I liked it.

Sylvester Stallone played Ray Breslin, a guy who professionally breaks out of prisons to show their weaknesses to the prison officials. It's a heckuva way to earn a living, but it was lucrative. I certainly couldn't do it. He's still in prison at the end of the day.

He accepted a deal to attempt to break out of a new international prison that was off the grid and off-record. This was a prison that would be used to house the world's worst criminals. The federal government offered him $5M to attempt to break out of this prison. Unlike all the other prisons, Breslin and his team-- Abigail (Amy Ryan), Hush (50 Cent), and Lester Clark (Vincent D'Onofrio)-- didn't know where this prison was. In fact, they had next to no information about it. That wasn't a deal breaker because Breslin still had an extraction code and he was chipped for locating. Well, they removed his chip when they rounded him up, and his extraction code was useless in the prison.

He met a man named Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in the prison right away. Rottmayer curiously gravitated to Breslin which is something that doesn't easily happen behind bars. It would be the two of them versus the warden, Hobbes (Jim Caviezel), from then on out. They would need each other, a lot of cunning, and a lot of luck to escape the state-of-the-art escape-proof prison.

If there was one thing that I didn't really care for was Breslin's all-encompassing knowledge. He admitted that he was a lawyer before which takes a fair amount of knowledge and practice, but where did he learn astronomy, nautics, ship controls, ship layouts, metallurgy, morse code, and a lot of other things. He had the knowledge of ten guys plus physical fitness. I only forgave this exaggerated resume because I liked the movie. It was technical, it appealed to one's belief in justice and fairness, it was heist-movie like in the scheming, and there was just enough action. Oh yeah, it was pretty funny too. Arnie was gifted some good lines.

To be honest, if I didn't like Sly and Arnie, two guys who were THE action stars of my youth, I don't think I would've liked this movie as much. They had just enough clout to pull it off even though they were very much past their prime.

HBO Max.

Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) is an escape expert. He is hired to be put into prisons and escape. Abigail (Amy Ryan) and Hush (50 Cent) are his team and Lester Clark (Vincent D'Onofrio) gets them the job. The CIA comes calling to test a privately-run secret prison for the worst of the worst. When he's taken, his team lose track of him. The prison warden Hobbes (Jim Caviezel) refuses to let him go even though he gives the evacuation code. Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is one of the prisoners who helps Breslin but they're on their own.

I really love the first half of this movie. Sylvester Stallone really grew on me. The team and the jobs are interesting. Everything is going well. It makes sense why Hobbes wouldn't release Breslin at first. The first problem comes in the form of Arnold Schwarzenegger. Immediately, I am afraid of cheesy 80s action camp coming. For awhile, Arnold did his job and the story moves on. He did his best, and got a few jokes in. I actually prefer not to have the joking around. The sense of cheesy camp is always near and that's what the jokes are. Then the movie goes full on cheese. It's like a time warp into an old Arnold action movie when he takes the big machine gun.

There is also the problem of why some of these prisoners aren't just killed off. Why would a drug cartel care to keep Javed alive? No idea. Why not just torture Victor Manheim out of Rottmayer? No idea. Why wouldn't Hobbes kill Breslin once he finds out who he really is? No idea. There was somebody else (spoilers) who should want him dead. What happened?

It is so disappointing that this is not a better movie. It starts off so well but it's an obvious mistake to team up with Arnold doing serious action. That era is over and the guys are old. It may work in a jokey way in the Expendables franchise. This should be much better.

The terminator and Rambo in the same movie, in the 80s or even the 90s this would have been the event of the year...but then Sly didn't look like his veins where going to explode and Shwarzie had less floppy skin. But we digress. Sly plays an expert who professionally escapes prisons to test their security. He gets set-up and end's up in an experimental shadow prison from which he and Shwarzie have to escape. The film reminded me a bit of (and borrows elements from) Fortress and THX-1138. Contrary to The Expendables the film has a descent plot and is well made. The VFX are good and never look fake, so generally speaking a fine production. I expected little so I was positively surprised to see that it could deliver 2 hours of solid entertainment. It was never going to be as good as T2 or Cliffhanger but it's a pity it just flopped at the box office. I hope many people give it a second chance on DVD or BD as it is certainly worth the watch.

Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) is a renowned specialist in prison breaking in high-security facilities. He owns a company with his partner Lester Clark (Vincent D'Onofrio) and he works with his coworkers and friends Abigail (Amy Ryan) and Hush (50 Cent). Breslin follows three basic rules to escape: to know the layout; observe the routine; and get internal or external support to the getaway. Then he delivers a report with the flaws in the system to his client.

Breslin and his team are visited by the CIA agent Jessica Miller (Caitriona Balfe) that offers five-million dollars to him to test a state-of-art facility. Breslin accepts the challenge but soon he learns that he was double-crossed. The cruel prison ward Hobbes (Jim Caviezel) gives special attention to Breslin, following the instructions of his client and uses his right arm Drake (Vinnie Jones) to break Breslin. But the inmate Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) gets close to Breslin and helps him to find a way to escape and find who betrayed him. Will they be well succeeded in their intent?

"Escape Plan" is a full of action movie with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger and a great cast. The plot has the usual flaws but entertains a lot using the themes prison, betrayal and revenge that are always attractive. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Rota de Fuga" ("Escape Route")