Today’s quick review: Escape from L.A. In the gritty future of 2013, a massive earthquake has turned Los Angeles into an island that serves as a dumping ground for America’s undesirables. When the President’s radical daughter (A.J. Langer) steals a doomsday device, the government sends notorious outlaw Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) into Los Angeles to retrieve it. Snake has only 10 hours to get the device back and win his freedom before his time runs out.
Escape from L.A. is a sci-fi action movie from director John Carpenter. The sequel to Escape from New York, Escape from L.A. copies the premise of its predecessor wholesale. Once again Snake Plissken must venture into an anarchic prison-city to retrieve soemthing valuable for the government. Where the sequel differs from the original is in its over-the-top action sequences, the setting’s technological bent, and its overt satire of modern culture.
The result is a tongue-in-cheek action movie with bigger thrills than the original. Snake takes a more active role in the action sequences, which feature more extreme stunts backed by mid-90s special effects. The setting spoofs modern Los Angeles, with run-down versions of familiar locations and caricatures of L.A. personalities. These changes come at the cost of cohesion: Escape from L.A. lacks the focused vision and atmosphere of the original.
Escape from L.A. also takes jabs at itself. Other characters alternately mock Snake as an anacrhonism and praise his exploits from the previous film. Entire sequences are lifted from Escape from New York almost word-for-word, a gimmick that does lead to some amusing humor. But the ubiquitous references to Escape from New York deal a further blow to the film’s credibility, and the returning elements of the story mesh oddly with its new ones.
Give Escape from L.A. a shot if you enjoyed the first film and are curious to see a variant on the same premise. Escape from L.A. does not have the patience or the craftsmanship of the original, but it does offer more in the way of action and satire. Whether this is a fair trade will depend on your taste. For an even more satirical 90s sci-fi action movie, check out Demolition Man. For a failed take on a similar premise, check out Judge Dredd.
5.7 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.0 to 6.5 for decent action and satire that doesn’t quite hit the mark.