Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Maximum Security, Minimum Originality

Review: Lockout

Some of most underappreciated people in Hollywood are bound to be screenwriters. Actors get all the attention. Directors get all the credit. But everything starts with a script.

So, I’d like to take a minute to recognize writer Luc Besson, who has introduced us to such classic popcorn action films as The Professional, The Fifth Element, The Transporter, Unleashed, and, one of my favorite films, Taken. The man knows how to create an original, compelling, fun movie.

His new film, Lockout, which bombed this past weekend, is at the very least fun, a little compelling, but certainly not original.

The movie does engage us right from the start, opening with an interrogation of Snow, played by Guy Pearce (The King’s Speech, Prometheus). It’s a cool scene that helps us get to know Snow real fast. He’s a hard-hitting spy, he’s been set-up as a traitor, and he’s a smart mouth. The sentence for his supposed crimes? A lifetime in MS (Maximum Security) – One, a space-station prison (oh, right, the film is set in the future!).

However, when the President’s daughter is captured on a human rights mission and it becomes clear a full-fledged invasion of the facility would put her life further danger, there is one man who can save her. You guessed it, Snow.

It’s the plot of a million other films, most notably Escape from New York, with a little Die Hard thrown in too. Of course, a lack of originality has never stopped Hollywood before, so let’s press on and discuss the execution of a tired idea.

When all is said and done, the filmmakers seem to have made the most of what they were given. The new, Irish directing team of James Mather and Stephen St. Leger film the action well and the movie has a decent sense of momentum. Guy Pearce proves himself to be a reliable action star, his cool, fast-talking star very reminiscent of those of the 80s and 90s. Gorgeous Maggie Grace (Knight and Day) also does well, but is largely relegated to the role of the beautiful, kidnapped girl. As for her captors, Vincent Regan (300) and Joseph Gilgun (Harry Brown) are equally menacing as the film’s primary (Scottish) antagonists, although Gilgun’s accent was difficult to understand at times.

Overall, Lockout is entertaining, but completely predictable. The only reason I still had fun was simply because it has been a while since there’s been a classic lone-man-on-a-mission film. Basically, it’s kinda like a tale you’ve heard told before, but you listen again just to relive your favorite parts. And besides, this time the story’s being told with the events happening in space! Fun, but forgettable.

The Final Word: Don't even bother.

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