Stars Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Faran Tahir, Vinnie Jones, Curtis Jackson, Amy Ryan with Sam Neill and Vincent D'Onofrio Directed by Mikael Håfström So this is the one some movie fans have been waiting for since the 90s. Action heavyweights then, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger are finally in a proper movie together. No, The Expendables movies don't really count as Schwarzenegger's role in those movies are nothing more than glorified cameo. This one, they share the screen, their characters are pivotal to the story, they interact- it's not just here-for-a-moment-and-back-later-for-some-coolness bit part. Of course, this is also over twenty years past their prime action star status, but there are a few surprises. For one, this is old school film-making. CGI effects are regulated to explosions and fire… which means the lead stars, aged as they are, actually manage to deliver some convincing action beats when the time comes. They're also relying more on dialogue and character, and their off-screen friendship fuels the on-screen chemistry. So, given the nature of the plot, it becomes very obvious that the action was going to be back-loaded. The title, Escape Plan, does give it away and with a movie like this, the structure is predictable. We establish our hero, Ray Breslin (Stallone), being a pro at his job, which is breaking out of prisons as a way to test their systems. We're given some information how breakouts generally occur and what is needed. Then we have the ultimate test, in this case, a new kind of prison, that Ray is asked to break out of. Once he's in, things go wrong and he has to break out anyway (hence the title), but having to team up with some of the inmates, one in particular being Rottmayer (Schwarzenegger). There has to be some credit to the set and production designers for utilising the space in the creation of the mysterious prison called The Tomb (the original title of the film). In a real world scenario, the way the individual cells are designed is a massive waste of space. For the movie, they are eye-candy and unique. The location and nature of the prison itself… well, that was easy to figure out given the space they were in. Stallone and Schwarzenegger deliver some decent performances that does surpass their efforts earlier this year (see Bullet To The Head and The Last Stand), but it's the supporting stars (Faran Tahir, Sam Neill, Vincent D'Onofrio among them) that shine. Jim Caviezel in particular makes full use of his screen time to deliver a chilling and cold antagonist, with some odd physical habits. It's perhaps a physical performance meant to distance himself from his other 'well-dressed' action hero in the excellent Person of Interest TV series. You can't really complain about the performances except for perhaps Amy Ryan and Curtis Jackson, who really don't have very much to do. Their characters don't really get established very well beyond a few lines of dialogue. Then again, the movie being what it is, you're not expecting award winning performances here. Still, it's a fair movie with mostly solid performances and decent action well delivered (expect for some dodgy CGI effects). Fans of Stallone and Schwarzenegger are not likely to be disappointed if compared to their current output. Of course it's not going to hold a candle to the likes of the original Rocky or Terminator 2: Judgment Day but it would be better than some of their worst. At least they make the escape itself something that has to be worked out logically…. maybe except one part of it. But then, would it be this kind of movie with
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