"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



