Escape from New York (1981) Review

"I thought you were dead."
-Almost every character in the movie



In the far off future of 1997, Manhattan has been turned into a giant, maximum security prison.  When Air Force One crashes inside, leaving the President (Donald Pleasence) trapped, recently captured criminal and ex-Special Forces soldier, Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell), is sent into New York on an impossible mission to save him.


What Works:

The premise for this movie is simply fantastic.  The set up for this movie is really cool and exciting.  It's truly a brilliant idea and it's executed pretty well.

Kurt Russell just oozes cool as Snake Plissken.  We never learn too much about him, but that's okay.  All we need to know is that this guy is badass.  Snake is an iconic character for a reason and that reason is Russell's performance.

The best scene in the movie comes just after the crash of Air Force One.  A team is sent in to the crash site only to find the President missing.  They meet the character of Romero (Frank Doubleday) who shows them the President's severed finger and tells them to leave or he dies.  It's a great tone setter and my favorite part of the movie.

It's great to see Harry Dean Stanton in a different type of role.  I'm so used to him playing an old curmudgeon or just a blue-collar guy.  This time around, he's the brains of the bad guy's operation.  He's literally called "Brain."  It's fun to see him in this type of role and I could tell he enjoyed it too.

Finally, the 3rd act is pretty intense.  We have a group of five characters running for their lives across a bridge full of explosions.  I really didn't know who was going to make it and who wasn't (with one exception due to the existence of Escape from L.A.).  It's a really exciting sequence and a great way to end the film.


What Sucks:

I wish John Carpenter had gone farther with this premise.  I feel like he didn't do enough with it.  The entirety of New York City is a prison now.  Show us the insanity.  We really only got to see the dynamics of one group within the city and I would have liked to see more.  The film could have gone farther into Mad Max territory and I wish it had.

The characters all felt underdeveloped.  The film should have been longer and let us get to know the characters better.  It would have meant a little more when they finally bit the dust.

Finally, Isaac Hayes plays the main antagonist, the Duke, and he does not get enough to do.  He really could have been something special if they showed the more villainous side of him.  I guess what I'm saying is that, all in all, this movie should have been longer.  I wanted more than what we got.


Verdict:

Escape from New York is a fun movie, if a bit overhyped.  Kurt Russell, Harry Dean Stanton, and Frank Doubleday are great and the 3rd act is exciting, but I wish there was more.  This was such a great concept, but I can't help but feel they didn't utilize all of its potential.  This is one movie I actually want them to remake and go full balls to the wall with it.

 7/10: Good 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Argylle (2024) Review

Image
 "The human skull is shockingly brittle." -Aidan Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a very successful spy novelist.  She draws attention from the espionage community when plot points in her books come true.  When Elly is attacked on a train by a group of spies, she is rescued by another spy, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who needs her help with his mission and to do that, she needs to write another chapter of her latest book. Spoilers Below.  Go ahead and read on because I don't recommend this movie, but either way, you've been warned. What Works: Argylle has a really fun premise that really works in the first half of the movie.  It's a fish-out-of-water, buddy-cop, spy movie, and it's a blast.  Watching Ellie predict where to go based on what the characters in her books would do is a lot of fun.  It's what the whole movie should have been. The opening sequence follows Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) on another dangerous mission as he pursues the villainous LaGrang
Read more

Top 10 Movies of 2023

Image
2023 is finally over and it's time for me to put my Top 10 list together.  2023 was definitely a weaker year for movies.  There were definitely some great movies, but there were also plenty of disappointing and bad movies as well.  I still managed to put together a great Top 10 with a couple of worthy contenders that just missed the cut.  Let's take a look! #10. They Cloned Tyrone They Cloned Tyrone is a wild and fun sci-fi tale that takes place in the hood.  A drug dealer, a pimp, and a prostitute discover a cloning conspiracy and the results are intelligent and hilarious.  This is a really smart and funny movie with some amazing performances across the board.  This was a movie that kept me guessing the whole way through.  What an absolute blast. #9. Renfield I'm guessing Renfield will be the most controversial entry on my list as I feel like I'm the only person who liked this movie.  I love the old Universal monster movies and the fact that we get a direct sequel, whi
Read more

Madame Web (2024) Review

Image
 "When you take on the responsibility, great power will come." -Santiago Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), a New York paramedic, hits her head in an accident, which unlocks the ability to see glimpses of the future.  When she sees Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) attempting to murder three teenage girls, Cassie intervenes to save them.  As Cassie learns to understand her power, she also discovers the connection between her, the girls, and Ezekiel. What Works: I think the core idea at the center of this movie is a good one and has the potential to be interesting.  Cassie's superpowers are kinda lame.  It's not like they're going to help in a combat situation.  Ezekiel is basically evil Spider-Man.  He has legitimate powers and is a massive threat.  That's an interesting conflict.  How does someone with lackluster superpowers take on a supervillain.  It's a fun idea that I would like to see tried again with greater success.  What Sucks: This movie was embarrassing to
Read more