Escape From Outer Space

Lockout's biggest fault is that it couldn’t make up it’s mind what type of action thriller it wanted to be. A few nudges to the right and it would a been a laugh out loud, ultra-stupid bullshit action film of the highest order. A jump to the left and a smart, tense thriller might of emerged. What we end up with in the latest offering from Luc Besson’s production outfit is a bland middle ground that’s neither funny nor daring enough to be a truly successful bullshit action flick nor sufficiently tense or intriguing for a mature thriller.

The plotting is almost throwaway meaning little suspense is generated in moving the characters from A to B to C, the action largely unimaginative despite the outer space location of an orbiting, futuristic prison and the twisty climax too convoluted for the shallow script that has preceded it for 80 minutes.

Still, there are pleasures to be had with the casting being the at the forefront. Guy Pearce, an under-rated actor for many years, is given the opportunity to shine as a leading man for the first time since L.A. Confidential as Snow, perhaps the most sarcastic and condescending action hero we’ve ever seen (outside of a Shane Black / Joss Whedon script). If Lockout is basically Escape From New York in space then Snow is the ultra cynical, anti-authoritarian re-imaginining of Snake Plissken for the new millennium. Also splendidly cast are Vincent Regan and Joseph Gilgum are the intelligently ruthless and unpredictably insane baddies respectively while Peter Stormare and Lennie James get to do the fretting cop authority figure thing outside the prison. The real surprise here is Lost’s Maggie Grace as the President’s daughter who provides the ying to Pearce’s yang. She handles the banter and action with grace (pun intended) and it’s a pleasure to see her playing a more centred and responsible individual than the floppy armed airhead of Taken, etc.

A solid, good looking and smirk some action flick but just not confident enough in it’s tone to really stand out from the crowd.