How about the technology? Early in the movie, life-like holograms trick Plissken into thinking he's in a room with the president and military leaders. Before Plissken ships out, he's given a similar hologram device in case he needs to create a diversion, which he does at the end of the movie. Total Recall (1990) equipped Arnold Schwarzenegger's character with a similar device—but set its story in 2083, which was probably a smart call. As recent Coachella-goers or CNN election-night viewers know, present-day holographic capabilities are good, but not that good.

So, no, writers Carpenter, Russell, and Debra Hill weren't oracles. But few sci-fi creators aspire to be. Nevertheless, the film's vision of the future, while inexplicably ugly (Escape From L.A. was made on a $50 million, compared to $6 million for Escape From New York, yet the sequel still looks like a B-movie), is strangely vivid. As critic James Berardinelli wrote in his original review, "Los Angeles is clearly Los Angeles (or, more appropriately, what's left of Los Angeles), and we are given a tour of both the changed geography and the bizarre cultures rising from the ashes." Interestingly as well, watching Escape From L.A. on 17th anniversary of its August 9 release offers some insights on things that don't change. When two glass skyscrapers shake and tumble to the ground in the earthquake that rends the West Coast, it looks like Hollywood's version of 9/11—a sign that this summer's filmmakers, despite recent trends, have no monopoly on evoking America's darkest day, unintentionally or not.

The film's campiness, though, would feel out of place in this year's Christopher Nolan-influenced, very-serious-blockbuster summer. We meet Plissken when he's in police custody, having become a rob-the-rich folk hero after rescuing the president of the United States in Escape From New York. Carpenter offers fleeting glimpses of Russell before we see him in his not-quite-iconic outfit of long hair, dark jacket, and an eye patch. It's over the top, and knowingly so. In the movie's silliest scene, Snake surfs alongside the L.A. River and then jumps onto a moving car as '50s surf rock plays.

The surprisingly character-driven script, too, wouldn't fly today. Rather than focus on elaborate set pieces and action sequences, Carpenter, Hill, and Russell give their actors ample time to talk and double-cross each other. Sometimes Snake is the trickster—in one memorable moment, he kills armed men by appealing to their sense of fair play, which he does not reciprocate—but most of the time everyone around Snake betrays him. Steve Buscemi turns up as "Map of the Stars" Eddie, and at first he's eager to help. But as the movie continues, Eddie reveals himself as a lackey for Cuervo Jones (Georges Corraface), a Peruvian revolutionary and the movie's de-facto villain. With the exception of Peter Fonda's whacked-out hippie, the characters of Escape From L.A. are unfailingly selfish and mean. Plissken gets some help from Hershe (Pam Grier), a transgender crime lord, but only after he lies to her about a government payoff.