Cameos in the silly but sort of fun Expendables aside, there has been an awful wait to see Arnie and Sly Stallone together on screen. Both are now almost geriatric- Sly is 68 and Arnie 67- but they’re both still doing their thing and this time they’re doing it together. This is Arnie’s second big film, after The Last Stand, since he’s finished his term as the Governator of California. In a sense both these chaps have been left behind a bit by a younger breed of more chop socky action heroes. Heck, even Matt Damon has done action films since Arnie took his sabbatical. And given their age, standing still and hitting people is about as action packed as they get, unless you include climbing up ladders. And there is a lot of climbing up ladders in this film.
Escape plan follows the story of a chap called Ray (Sly) who is paid to break out of prisons. He’s a security contractor and of course we find out it’s due to his family being murdered by an escapee. That’s almost a given isn’t it? The movie starts with Ray locked up in a high security prison and follows his escape. We then get the “reveal” that he’s not really a criminal, he’s been hired to do it. He then gets offered the chance to test the security on a privately run CIA rendition prison but finds he’s been sold up the river.
So far so good. Up to this point the film has a distinct TV movie feel to it. IMDB reckons they spent $50m in total on Escape Plan but it’s hard to see where it went, unless the majority was on golf buggies to ferry the elderly gents around set. It feels distinctly low rent, not helped by the majority of the movie being set in doors in an enclosed environment that would be more at home on a TV sci-fi show.
Still, it’s enjoyable bunkum for the most part, not least because of what I’ve decided to term Arnold’s Face Acting. Mr Schwarzenegger has always been somewhat ridiculed for his Austrian Oak like wooden performances, a real achievement considering the action film genre he participates in isn’t renowned for it’s stars acting credentials, but it’s obvious that standing in front of the public as a politician has required some serious acting coaching. As a result of this, we have Face Acting– a series of over-exaggerated facial gurns, all set to the same inflection-less monotone voice, that are supposed to convey emotion. Quite simply it’s fantastic and probably the best aspect of the film. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great seeing two old gents go up and down ladders repeatedly, and it’s also funny to see the typical high tech prison set up you see in this sort of film still have the sort of situation where they let prisoners mingle together and easily steal stuff ALL THE TIME but the Face Acting is definitely the highlight in my book.
If I had to rate this film, which I don’t like doing in absolute terms, I’d call it a two or three pinter, depending on your tolerance. With a couple of beers in you it’s an entertaining way to pass a couple of hours.
