Évasion

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.

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")

No doubt that movie is entertaining, 8/10, fast, no slow time. Humour, jokes, a few reference to older movie. This movie is with both main actor, not a Sly movie with a cameo of Arnold, its both of them all the time. It's good and funny. The plot is intelligent, I liked it. It's not a remake of any kind, of course you know the end or you can predict some of the turnouts. But, overall it is fun and intelligent. The ending is rushed a bit, turns out like a bit of a sort of "Expendable" style of movie, but not as much. No sex, or any kind of romance in that movie, or super chicks making you want to jump at the screen, it's a typical American movie, blood, guns & some violence, but no chick.

"Escape Plan" isn't the greatest film ever made. But it is a fun, non-stop thrill ride B-movie that delivers the dream team we've always wanted...Arnie and Sly! Yes, they've teamed up in the over-the-top, cheesy Expendables films but "Escape Plan" is a more satisfying and better quality film.

Rambo...Terminator...Jesus...John Trent...50 Cent...yeah, the cast is pretty awesome for this "prison break" flick. Jim Caviezel almost steals the show as the "evil" warden. We all know Sly and Arnie are in their mid-60's but man do they still kick butt! Plus they're still literally ripped...like bulging...like veins sticking out all over the place ripped! We had a blast watching this and I recommend it to any action fan, especially the 80's action crowd. There's great one-liners, slow motion shoot outs, explosions, prison shanks, and all sort of bad ass action.

I really hope this does well at the box office because it is an entertaining film that's way better than "The Last Stand" and "A Bullet To The Head". But I wouldn't be surprised if those films have turned some movie goers off. A real action fan will love this flick though. Go check it out! Get to da choppa!!!!