Now in a box set 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray disc for home entertainment, the ex-Governor of California and boxer Rocky finally get full feature screen time together in their movie Escape Plan. And they haven’t broken their action formula yet. In the film the duo play familiar roles delivering the usual tough guy dialogue and punching their way through this prison story. If you like the two icons, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone, you’ll enjoy watching them create a lot of their usual chaos and drama.
Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) is an ex-lawyer and co-owner of a company he founded that tests the escape proof of high security federal prisons. The method however, gets very dangerous as Breslin gets planted inside the jail with only a code word that will save him if he cannot escape. When he’s successful in escaping, the prisons correct the problem and better the system.
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After a successful escape from a Colorado Federal Prison Breslin and co-owner Lester Clark (Vincent D’Onofrio) meet with Jessica Miller (Caitriona Balfe). Miller wants to hire Breslin to test the safety of an independent secretly run prison called ‘The Tomb’ and will pay huge money for his services. Never having a payday this big Clark pushes Breslin to take this one last job.
But it’s not like his other jobs as Breslin gets taken away blindfolded to the mysterious destination and finds himself trapped in the heavily fortified facility. After failing to get out on his first try he enlists the help of inmate Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who helps him put together a plan that will put them on a path of do or die.
Director Mikael Hafstrom keeps his actors at a high level of interaction as they set up the plan by creating havoc and riots as part of their escape. The script takes on a lot of familiarity because Stallone and Schwarzenegger are known for their tight situations, get some guns and blast your way out films. Although Escape Plan is not a First Blood or a True Lies the high profile actors have been seen in so many action films it’s hard to differentiate their personas from one character to another. Hafstrom, no matter what he does as a director gets what he’s looking for, Rocky and The Terminator with their macho courage and mayhem.
As far as the look of the film, I like the sets at the Colorado Prison that are very scary realistic and the prison riot at ‘The Tomb’ gets very exciting. The cinematography inside the cells of ‘The Tomb’ showing the convicts living in clear glass boxes with guards on catwalks spying down on them works well to create a confining atmosphere.
Special Bonus Features:
“Audio Commentary” Director Mikael Hafstrom and Co-writer Miles Chapman give viewers the low down on the scenes throughout the film. After watching the movie check it out again with the audio commentary turned on.
“Executing the Plan: The Making of Escape Plan” (22 min.) Sylvester Stallone, Producers Mark Canton and Kevin King-Templeton, Writer Miles Chapman and others layout and comment on how the film was put together.
“Maximum Security: The Real-Life Tomb” (20 min.) A look inside maximum security prisons old and new. It includes some of the most violent prisoners ever housed in them.
“Clash of the Titans” (15 min.) Schwarzenegger and Stallone talk about how they got attached to the film and some of their off screen time working together. It’s their first meeting on screen together. It’s a lot of fun watching the two icons of action talk about each other.
“Deleted and Extended Scenes”
“Book Marks” You can add bookmarks to the movie while you are watching it and then revisit it at another time.
The 4K quality and sound played on a 4K system is extremely good in Escape Plan. The sets are brilliant looking, especially the cells where it looks like the prisoners are in cubes and you can reach out and touch the special Plexiglas of which they are made. The movie takes on a more pristine look using the system with complete absence of grain.
Escape Plan has been rated R by the MPAA for violence and language throughout. Most of the violence comes later in the movie but there are several fist fights early on. Be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the video as it does have some scenes that are very inappropriate for adolescents.
FINAL ANALYSIS: Sly and Arnold put on a good show. (Movie 3.5 out of 5 Stars, 4K quality 5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Vinnie Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio and Amy Ryan.
Directed by: Mikael Håfström
Genre: Action, Mystery, Thriller
MPAA Rating: Rated R for violence and language throughout
Running Time: 1 hr 56 min
4 K Video Release Date: June 5, 2018
Original Theatrical Release Date: October 18, 2013
Language: English (changeable to Spanish or French)
Audio: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Video: 4K- 2160p, 16×9 Widescreen 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 2 Discs
Distributed by: Lionsgate
Released in: 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
