Escape Plan

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.

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.

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 think Stallone and Schwarzenegger turned in two admirable performances in this film, much better than their recent attempts.

Stallone, plays Ray, a guy that gets paid to escape prisons and find loop holes in security. He accepts a big challenge for a large paycheck, but soon realizes he's the one that's been scammed. Someone wanted him to be locked up in a unknown prison that seems impossible to escape. He teams up with fellow prisoner, Rottmayer, and they crack the seemingly impossible.

FINAL VERDICT: I found it to be suspenseful and I just like when the "hero" finds a way to succeed when it seems highly unlikely. And I liked the way it's done in this movie. I recommend it for any action fans.

This is a simple plot movie that symbolizes everything about Silvestre and Schwarzenegger glory days. There is no thick plot or real complexities, it's a simple bad guys Vs good guys action flick. However, the movie does not disappoint, its very entertaining and full of action and hard core scenes. The acting is as expected, nothing Oscar worthy but good enough from action legends like them. The idea is simple and is easily understood. The one difference in this movie is that the chemistry between Schwarzenegger and Stallone is excellent and they deliver some humor also. The only downside that I can think about is the fact that this movie is really meant for both the stars fans and not people who are looking for real ideas or excellent cinematography. Bottom line go enjoy the movie and don't forget your popcorn.