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| John Carpenter's: Escape From New York |
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  (7/10)
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Runtime: 99 M |
| Public Rating: 8.72 (29 votes) |
Director: John Carpenter |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Sci-Fi/Action |
Year: 1981 |
| Writer(s): John Carpenter/Nick Castle |
| Reviewed by: William McGuire |
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(This Review Contains Spoilers. Watch for my warning!)
Escape From New York is a perfect example of a movie that is a flawed, but enjoyable shoot'em up. The concept is intriguing, the actors all give solid performances, and the ending has a nice, if cliched twist. However the pacing is off, the action scenes, while enjoyable, are sparse, and overall the script lacks real bite.
The movie begins with the mandatory "Sci-Fi, Pre-Credits, Plot Exposition LTD.". According to the computer the year is 1997. To deal with the rising crime rate the United States Police Force is created, and the island of Manhattan is transformed into a Federal Penitentiary. On the island the convicts have created their own world with no interference from the USPF who only guard against escape. After the SFPCPE, we meet The President played by Donald Pleasance. He's on his way to a summit with the Soviets, and plane is in trouble. So he escapes in the emergency pod and lands in Manhattan. USPF Commander Bob Hauk, (Lee Van Cleef) leads a force into the island to retrieve him, and is told by a messenger that The President is being held hostage by The Duke, and will be killed if his demands are not met or the team doesn’t leave. In a rare display of common sense, Hauk agrees to leave.
Next, we meet Snake Pliskin, a former two-time Purple Heart (!), who now works as a gunfighter. He's about to be led into NY when Hauk makes him a deal: Locate and rescue the President in 24 hours, and get him out of NY. And just to lighten the mood, Hauk implants a bomb into Snake that will explode in 24 hours if it is not de-activated. And so, our hero now properly pissed-off takes a helicopter to the World Trade Center, lands and begins his search for the Duke. Along the way to the Duke he gets help from a old cabbie, Snake's old buddy Brain, and Brain's girl.
This was one of Carpenter's earliest films, but already he has some of his trademarks in place. The film has a killer soundtrack, (which he wrote), a truly original concept, and some memorable characters especially Snake. Snake is the quintessential action-hero. He's tough, sardonic, and totally amoral. Russell does the whole, "I don't care." attitude perfectly. The other actors do well, but none are given anywhere near the kind of screentime Snake is. Although this review is positive, I think I should point out that there are a number of major flaws with this movie. First of all, the film really wastes both Pleasance and Van Cleef. Neither gets much chance to show their character's growth. (MAJOR Spoilers) Even the President slaying of The Duke, this character's defining moment, is played down. All in all this movie is worth seeing, but don't expect a life-changing experience.
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