Lockout

Caught this late Friday night with my girl after the Drake gig and had a good night overall. After being on my feet for hours it was good to sit on my arse at twelve on the night and just switch off and enjoy a mindless bit of action. And that's exactly what 'Lockout' offers. If you've seen Luc Besson's Europacorp action flicks you know what to expect. I love all of them and this was no exception. Guy Pearce is the show stealer as Agent Snow, the John McClane of the space age. His wisecracks and mindless violence keep your attention. Maggie Grace is as good as ever as the damsel in distress and the supporting actors do a bang up job as well. Almost stealing the show from Pearce, but not quite, is Joseph Gilgun as the nutty Scot, sure to make you laugh once or twice, even if you're hating the film. The effects are well done, the action over-the-top and exciting and it's overall good late night entertainment. As with all these sorts of films, I'm sure critics and serious Sci-fi nuts are going to hate. But as I always say, for people who can switch off and enjoy a bit of brainless fun, this is a must. Let the haters hate and the watchers watch.

***/*****.

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.

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

It's fair to say Luc Besson has gotten a bit giddy ever since "Taken." The man who once upon a time brought us "La Femme Nikita" and "Leon: The Professional" has instead taken to lighter action fare, in this case recruiting amateurs James Mather and Stephen St. Leger to help write and direct his "original idea." Exactly—not a "story by" credit, but "original idea."

That's not to say "Lockout" isn't creative, but it's definitely not original. Some might dub it "Taken in space," especially considering it borrows that film's starlet in Maggie Grace, but it's much more akin to "Escape from New York in space." Either way, "Lockout" is another simple- concept action film from Besson, only it has a bigger ego that gets in the way sometimes.

"Lockout" is good for kicks, a fact of which it's very aware. Guy Pearce's Snow, the morally questionable and reluctant hero written so closely to the archetype he almost transcends it, weirdly. He has a sense of humor best described as abundant (though sometimes quite clever), and Pearce plays him especially wry; most actors (think Nicolas Cage) would've hammed it up too much or been unconvincing.

Snow is tasked with rescuing the president's daughter (Grace), who is stuck on a maximum security prison in space that has incurred a major security breach. These are the world's most dangerous criminals, plus they have been in stasis for any number of years, which has made them even nuttier. Joseph Gilgun as Rydell, one of two Scottish prisoners trying to run the uprising, is a particularly deranged fellow reminiscent of a demented Groundskeeper Willie.

Both Rydell and the other main baddie, Alex (Vincent Regan), have a cold-blooded edge that could have made for an effective R-rated ransom thriller reminiscent of late '90s films like Air Force One, but the devil-may-care attitude of the entire movie ultimately clashes with these darker moments, even though they do make you take the movie more seriously than you would otherwise.

After a little bit of context at the beginning to properly motivate Snow, both he and us are effectively shot from a canon. The story only slows down a bit toward the end, but it mostly plays out as a series of dominoes. The action doesn't satisfy so much as the pace and the threat of violence (now here's a good example of how you do PG-13 violence), but it's well done aside from an opening motorcycle sequence shot on green screen and outfitted with an effects job that really shows the budget.

Aside from that, the futuristic sci-fi elements stay pretty classy—nothing overdone or distracting. The gadgets provide some creativity to a number of the sequences and the script manages to inject some unpredictability into a story that could not have a more obvious trajectory.

Despite the self-awareness at points, with a lot of that credit going to Pearce, Lockout tries especially hard to be entertaining on too many fronts, aspiring to be the consummate popcorn flick rather than just identifying one tone and sticking with it. The final scene on the space prison strangely evokes the original "Star Wars" Death Star run, as if to make sure the audience gets to munch on some sci fi/fantasy before the credits roll.

It's hard to fault "Lockout" for aiming to please considering that that spirit seems to be the driving force behind the movie's strengths as well as its weaknesses. Although the number of attempts at humor might catch some folks off guard, "Lockout" offers what anyone interested in the film would expect, if for no other reason than its built upon tons of tropes from previously effective movies. In turn, "Lockout" is effective, but not too much more.

~Steven C

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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!