The Escapist

I must admit that I rented this movie on DVD, just because Andy Serkis was in it. He played Gollum in The Lord of the Rings - at least his voice did in the first part. So I was kind of curious to see the man behind the voice. But once I was five minutes past the titles the film kind of grew on me, Andy Serkis or no (although he plays his part rather well).and I really liked it. It is a gruesome story about a burglary gone REAL bad, but still it has got some humor too. This could have been a big hit, if only it had been made in Hollywood. I can see Michael Douglas play a part in the remake... But seriously, it is THAT kind of movie. Innocent guy, lovely wife, loads of money - and all of a sudden it does not matter any more. Great Thriller!

I am sure that this kind of film, if made in the seventies, would have been a very exciting yarn. This one is OK, but from the beginning, I don't understand why those criminals, and not simple thugs, chose precisely the home of this man to commit a gratuitous murder. Why? The villain if of course excellent in terms of cast, but I don't understand why he killed the main character's wife...Why? Because, I repeat, those hoodlums looked very like professionals. The rest of the film is just OK for me, not more. Gritty, yes; tough, yes; a good time wester, yes. It is a British film, not American, and there are not so many British crime movies those days, since the late nineties. Or very few are really good. Most of them are lousy.

From the opening scene it is beautifully shot, with a cool and hard style plus superb casting. Highlighting the senseless horror in our current society and one mans determination not to let sleeping dogs lie. It took me through several very strong emotions.

I haven't seen the film but I was in it as an extra. I often wondered what happened to the film as I never saw in a video shop or advertised anywhere. I'm the prison officer in the courtroom scene on Andy Serkis' left. I was taken aback when Andy reacted violently during the scene as he was taken down after sentencing. They never tell the extras anything. In one take I was flung to the floor in another take he caught me in the ribs with his elbow. I was in agony for weeks. Andy Serkis definitely owes me a drink for that. LOL But I was impressed at the way both Johnny Lee Miller worked together and the way they repeated the intensity required in the scene and then switched off and started talking about football as soon as the cut was called. I'm looking forward to seeing the film soon.

A pilots pregnant wife is killed by a band of thugs who break into their home. The gang is caught and sent off to prison. Wanting to see that "justice" is done the pilot stages his own death and then gets himself arrested so he can hunt the killers in the prisons into which they have been sent.

To be honest the story is a bit clichéd with the plot taking some obvious paths once things are set in motion. Normally that would be a bad thing but here the film works largely thanks to a very good cast of mostly unknown actors. The stand out is Andy Serkis, best known for playing Gollum in the Lord of the Rings movies. Here he's the head of the nasty band and his vileness seems to drip off the screen. If you want to know why Peter Jackson chose him to play the tortured creature in the big budgeted epic look no further. Serkis isn't on screen much until the final portion of the film, but his evilness in the early part of the film hangs over everything like a dark cloud.

Definitely worth a look for those who want an undemanding thriller, and those who want to see what Andy Serkis is capable of when he isn't doing just a computer generated character. 6.5 out of 10.