Lockout

In an effort to keep with my new years resolution  I am going to be more prolific. Not crazy prolific, I have a procrastination level to keep up.

Today's review is the DVD movie Lockout with Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace.


To the synopsis.

It is 2070 and Snow is asked by his friend to back him up in a deal. When the deal goes south,  his friend, a US colonel is killed in the cross fire, Snow is arrested and convicted is for the colonels murder.  Meanwhile up in low earth orbit, MS1 a maximum security prison is being visited by the presidents daughter Emilie Warnock. She has suspicions about the facility cryogenicaly freezing inmates. Unfortunately for her, during the visit there is a prison break out and she is trapped on the orbiting prison. Snow is offered his freedom if he can infiltrate the prison and rescue the presidents daughter.

Let the escape from New York MS1 hyjinks begin!

Luc Besson wrote and produced this film and I do not know what inspiration he had for his idea, but it is hard not to compare Lockout to John Carpenters cult classic Escape from New York from 1981. The stories arevery similar, as are the main characters Snow and Snake. Both are rebellious, wise arse ex army specialists who are on the wrong side of the law and are forced to break into a prison to save some one. In John Carptenters Escape from New York it was the president, and in Lockout it is the presidents daughter. I could talk about the ideological differences between the two movies, but I want to focus on Lockout.

Snake vrs Snow

 I had my concerns about this going into it. It appeared to be a rip off, and some of the CGI at the beginning is a bit 'gamey'. Frankly some of the scenes are just ludicrous, but in saying that it is good watch for a muggy Sunday afternoon.

Lockout is a fun story with a good mixture of humour and action. Despite its obvious flaws you do get sucked into the story.  Guy Pearce as Snow is great as a the wise cracking irascible action hero, and Maggie Grace as Emilie dies a reasonable job as the compassionate frustrated first daughter.The cast do a great job with the script, even if the characters are very stereotypical.

It was pretty obviously a green screen shot movie, and there is one bad sequence at the beginning, but it cleans up after that and you can focus on the story. 

For me it was a return  to the 80's action movie. Pretty girl, tough hero, bad guys, explosions, Lockout has  a good mix of humour and action. The film seems very derivative, but the main cast carry it, and it does comes together as a funny and entertaining movie.

I give it six monkeys.