Delayed Reaction: Escape from New York

Premise: In a not-too-distant future, Manhattan is a giant federal prison and a convict is assigned with rescuing the President after Air Force One crashes on the island.

 

I'm not sure how it took me so long to get to this movie. I've enjoyed similar movies from the era like Mad Max and The Warriors. It's the kind of fun B-movie that I would've found on HBO when I was 14 and watched a couple times. Frankly, I've seen enough things that reference it consciously and unconsciously that I'd basically absorbed the whole movie before watching a second of it. In particular, I think back to the N64 game Battletanx Global Assault*, which I loved and I doubt would exist without Escape from New York setting the template.

 

*I'm really bummed that there weren't at least 2 more mediocre sequels in that series. A late GameCube era version would've hit my sweet spot of decent graphics and simple-enough gameplay before getting Wii-fied with motion sensor controls.

 

So, it's hardly a surprise that I enjoyed this movie a lot. I watched this after Locked Down and it seems unfathomable that this is actually 20 minutes shorter. It sets up the big ask of the premise right away and establishes the tone just as quickly. This isn't a futuristic world I'm supposed to think about too hard. It's the kind of movie that's set 16 years in the future, not to explain all the technology but to explain how things got so shitty. It has some cool visual ideas. I particularly liked the car with the lamps attached to the hood for whatever reason. I love the zany cast. I don't know the exact arc of Kurt Russel's career, but I believe Snake Plissken was quite a turn for him. Isaac Hayes pulls The Duke right out of a great blaxploitation movie. I even enjoy Ernest Borgnine showing up as the cabbie.

 

I do wish the $10 million version of this was made rather than the $6 million version. The cheapness works for the overall feel of the movie, but I can sense some cut corners in a number of places, like Carpenter could only put one crazy idea on screen when he'd thought of three. Or maybe I'm just describing the formula that gave us the less well-received Escape From LA.

 

Verdict: Strongly Recommend