Escape Plan - Blu-ray Review

Details: By Frank Wilkins; 19 October 2013

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Escape Plan

Marketed as the first film to feature old action dogs Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger together as top-billed stars in the same film, Escape Plan is not the high-octane action thriller we were led to believe. Ironically however, neither is it the compelling big-brained puzzler it thinks it is. Director Mikael Hafstrom overcomplicates what is actually a simple, straightforward prison escape movie and turns it into an only mildly interesting procedural that lurches and chugs in episodic fits.

Stallone is Ray Breslin, the world’s leading authority on prisons – building them, securing them, but most importantly, breaking out of them for a living. When he’s offered double his going rate to evaluate The Tomb, an off-the-grid private max-security prison, Breslin can’t resist the challenge.

It’s a tough job for sure. Full of the world’s deadliest criminals who have been “disappeared” by the government, the isolated prison is a pitiless maze of suspended glass cells, each kept under 24-hour video surveillance and surrounded by heavily-armed, masked guards. But equipped with a secret “safe word,” Breslin goes in to engineer a jailbreak so he can provide a report on the privately-owned facility’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities. Things begin to go wrong almost immediately however, as he’s beaten by the sadistic warden Hobbes (Jim Caviezel, chewing the scenery) who claims to know nothing of the pre-arranged evacuation code.

Breslin soon realizes he’s been set up by an unknown enemy that wishes to keep him imprisoned indefinitely. But who’s behind the nefarious plan and why aren’t his teammates on the outside able to come to his aid? Those are just a couple of the mysteries he must solve, along with how to free himself from an escape-proof prison.

Inside The Tomb, Breslin buddies up to Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger), the only person he can trust and the one who may hold the key to uncovering information that could secure their freedom.

This is where Hafstrom flips the switch, turning Escape Plan into a lunkheaded action piece. But it’s not even a good lunkheaded action piece. The greatest prison escape films - The Great Escape and Shawshank Redemption among them - often found success from filmmakers that knew how to methodically milk the suspense and mystery from the story before exploding into the grand escape finale. Hafstrom keeps our interest for the film’s first two-thirds with Breslin’s improvised rigging of escape tools and meticulous analyzation of guard behavior. But then the director can’t explain how, in the film’s closing minutes, escapees run right through the middle of the prison - one of the world’s most secure prisons, mind you - without being detected… while shooting machine guns. Haftsrom forgoes a deft hand and nuanced storytelling for bull-in-a-china-shop dumb luck. Nonsensical.

What’s wrong with making a dumb, simple-minded action movie that knows what it is? There’s certainly a place for that. But as odd as it sounds, Escape Plan isn’t quite dumb enough to be that kind of film. The first movie to feature Stallone and Schwarzenegger sharing the screen should be a fun, adrenaline-packed thrill ride. Escape Plan is not. And no, a Schwarzenneger wink to the camera as he picks up a .50 cal doesn’t make it that.[/tab]

[tab title="Film Details"]

MPAA Rating: R for violence and language throughout.
Runtime: 116 mins
Director: Mikael Håfström
Writer: Miles Chapman
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, 50 Cent
Genre: Action | Thriller
Tagline: No one breaks out alone
Memorable Movie Quote: "Heh heh. You hit like a vegetarian!"
Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Official Site: http://escapeplanmovie.com/
Release Date: October 25, 2013
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: No details available.

Synopsis: One of the world's foremost authorities on structural security agrees to take on one last job: breaking out of an ultra-secret, high-tech facility called "The Tomb." Deceived and wrongly imprisoned, Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) must recruit fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to help devise a daring, nearly impossible plan to escape from the most protected and fortified prison ever built. "Escape Plan" is the first pairing of action legends Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger in leading roles, and co-stars Jim Caviezel, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson, Vinnie Jones, Vincent D'Onofrio and Amy Ryan.[/tab]

[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Escape Plan - Blu-ray Review

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - February 3, 2014
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Spanish
Audio: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit); English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps); Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD); UV digital copy; Digital copy (as download); DVD copy
Region Encoding: A

Brought to life on blu-ray by Lionsgate, the 2.39:1 1080p AVC picture was photographed digitally with the Arri Alexa camera system, which is now well established as a cinematic replacement for film. The picture displays a cold, metallic, and glass prison environment contrasted with naturally hued monitor rooms. Flesh tones are perfectly rendered. Everything appears realistic, with contrast that is well balanced throughout. Blacks are deep and shadow delineation is well defined throughout. Resolution is excellent, with exceptional detail exhibited in fine facial features, hair, clothing, and object texture. The DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1-channel soundtrack is effectively dynamic yet nuanced during the quieter scenes. Atmospherics and sound effects are convincingly realistic, with effective surround envelopment.

Supplements:

Commentary:

The commentary with Director Mikael Hafstrom and Co-Writer Miles Chapman is engaging and describes the work (and stunts) that went on behind the scenes to get this thriller completed. For fans only.

Special Features:

There are just enough supplementals for this modest hit. Special features include three featurettes that highlight the team of Stallone and Schwarzenegger; the real life prison the film based itself on, a behind-the-scenes look, and a collection of deleted scenes. An ultraviolet digital copy of the film is also included.