Escape Plan

It’s partly entertaining and worth applauding if you haven’t seen The Prison Break series or the classic   Shawshank Redemption. Escape plan starring Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger is a onetime watch average entertainer that doesn’t go for anything fresh in terms of normal prison break strategies that we have seen in films.

The plot here has Ray Breslin who has escaped from many prisons. He is doing this as a profession so that the authorities can check for the faults in the functioning, architecture etc of the prison. The story here goes to its core as Breslin gets an offer to check the security of a privately funded prison. It’s a deal that breaks the normal protocols Breslin puts forward before entering any prison. How he manages to escape from this highly secure prison is the drama that unfolds here.

As I said, there is nothing really refreshing about the tactics in the movie apart from the crazy profession of Stallone. In a way Stallone and Schwarzenegger depicts the shallow version of Andy and Red in Shawshank. While the familiar prison break Filmographies had the patience to invest a considerable time span, here we have a central protagonist who is an expert but stuck in the most secure prison he has seen and still he manages to get-out within days. Rood warden, the stuff supplier, the fake encounters and many usual formulas are there. But with all this happening in brisk space, Escape plan doesn’t really give you time to curse it.

On screen, Stallone and Schwarzenegger have done their unchallenging roles nicely. Was happy to see a slightly younger Schwarzenegger (fewer scratches compared to his last two outings). The distraction sequence was something worth giving a clap. Farhan Tahir finally gets something to do on screen. Rest of the cast doesn’t have much to do.

The direction can’t improve the weakly built script. The script as I said just follows the existing patterns with very less alterations which were actually charmless. Cinematography and edits are on the ok side and the visual effects were quite disappointing.

Overall, it’s not a boring film, but not that great too. I am giving it a 2.5/5. If you have enjoyed the Hollywood Dabangs like Expendables, this one will surely please you.