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#113 - Escape From L.A.
John Carpenter, 1996
In a world where the city of Los Angeles has become a lawless open-air prison, a legendary criminal is forcibly recruited to recover a secret weapon from inside.
I suspect I'll always have a really soft spot for Escape From L.A., John Carpenter's follow-up to his 1981 cult classic Escape From New York, even though I can definitely understand why its reception is mixed at the absolute best. A lot of that has to do with the fact that it shamelessly copies the plot of its beloved predecessor, once again seeing one-eyed rebel Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) be captured by the fascistic American authorities and forced to carry out an important mission in a city-turned-island-prison under pain of time-delayed death. This time around, the action shifts from the crumbling urban wasteland of New York to the gaudy disaster area of Los Angeles, in a move that Carpenter himself has described as "Snake going Hollywood". This seems as good a defence as any for how Escape From L.A. is not only derivative of its predecessor but also shows off some technical choices that come across as shoddy even by the standards of mid-'90s action movies. Much is made of how there are multiple instances where the original's gritty set-pieces involving gladiatorial combat and marauding cannibals are exchanged for incredibly absurd ones here; the most notorious part of Escape From L.A. involves Snake surfing on a tidal wave, though it's not alone thanks to sequences involving submarines, basketball, and hang-gliding. Most of these sequences tend to involve Carpenter grappling with the advent of CGI and not faring too well in the process. A wry commentary on the sheer falsity of Hollywood and the hollow excess of sequels, perhaps, but not necessarily of the most benefit when making a genuinely effective story.
It's just as well that Russell is capable of carrying the film as well as he does. The passage of time has done nothing to stop him from exuding the same charming roughness that he had originally brought to the role. Much like its predecessor, there is an ensemble cast at work here in some fairly straightforward roles reminiscent of those from the original film, but even veterans like Stacy Keach or Cliff Robertson don't make too much of a good impression to stand out. Even cameo roles vary in quality - Peter Fonda playing an old surfer dude really lets you know what kind of film you're in for, while Bruce Campbell's brief appearance as a deranged plastic surgeon is an inspired choice that's lent some greatness by its. If there's anything about this film that genuinely bothers me these days, it's Pam Grier's turn as a transgender crime boss, which doesn't seem as bad as it could be but is still handled in poor enough taste that it counts as more of a strike against the movie than any amount of cheesy effects work ever could. Be that as it may, Escape From L.A. is still a fairly fun little exercise in post-apocalyptic action and probably the last genuinely enjoyable film Carpenter ever did (unless you count the "Cigarette Burns" episode of Masters of Horror, of course). It's easy to shrug this off as Carpenter coasting on former glories (this is the first and only sequel he's ever directed) and its anti-everything streak does have some considerable flaws to its execution (resulting in a film that makes They Live seem nuanced), but I still find it to be a fairly fun piece of work for the most part.
John Carpenter, 1996
In a world where the city of Los Angeles has become a lawless open-air prison, a legendary criminal is forcibly recruited to recover a secret weapon from inside.
I suspect I'll always have a really soft spot for Escape From L.A., John Carpenter's follow-up to his 1981 cult classic Escape From New York, even though I can definitely understand why its reception is mixed at the absolute best. A lot of that has to do with the fact that it shamelessly copies the plot of its beloved predecessor, once again seeing one-eyed rebel Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) be captured by the fascistic American authorities and forced to carry out an important mission in a city-turned-island-prison under pain of time-delayed death. This time around, the action shifts from the crumbling urban wasteland of New York to the gaudy disaster area of Los Angeles, in a move that Carpenter himself has described as "Snake going Hollywood". This seems as good a defence as any for how Escape From L.A. is not only derivative of its predecessor but also shows off some technical choices that come across as shoddy even by the standards of mid-'90s action movies. Much is made of how there are multiple instances where the original's gritty set-pieces involving gladiatorial combat and marauding cannibals are exchanged for incredibly absurd ones here; the most notorious part of Escape From L.A. involves Snake surfing on a tidal wave, though it's not alone thanks to sequences involving submarines, basketball, and hang-gliding. Most of these sequences tend to involve Carpenter grappling with the advent of CGI and not faring too well in the process. A wry commentary on the sheer falsity of Hollywood and the hollow excess of sequels, perhaps, but not necessarily of the most benefit when making a genuinely effective story.
It's just as well that Russell is capable of carrying the film as well as he does. The passage of time has done nothing to stop him from exuding the same charming roughness that he had originally brought to the role. Much like its predecessor, there is an ensemble cast at work here in some fairly straightforward roles reminiscent of those from the original film, but even veterans like Stacy Keach or Cliff Robertson don't make too much of a good impression to stand out. Even cameo roles vary in quality - Peter Fonda playing an old surfer dude really lets you know what kind of film you're in for, while Bruce Campbell's brief appearance as a deranged plastic surgeon is an inspired choice that's lent some greatness by its. If there's anything about this film that genuinely bothers me these days, it's Pam Grier's turn as a transgender crime boss, which doesn't seem as bad as it could be but is still handled in poor enough taste that it counts as more of a strike against the movie than any amount of cheesy effects work ever could. Be that as it may, Escape From L.A. is still a fairly fun little exercise in post-apocalyptic action and probably the last genuinely enjoyable film Carpenter ever did (unless you count the "Cigarette Burns" episode of Masters of Horror, of course). It's easy to shrug this off as Carpenter coasting on former glories (this is the first and only sequel he's ever directed) and its anti-everything streak does have some considerable flaws to its execution (resulting in a film that makes They Live seem nuanced), but I still find it to be a fairly fun piece of work for the most part.