“Escape from L.A.” (1996) / Z-View
Escape from L.A. (1996)
Director: John Carpenter
Screenplay: John Carpenter & Debra Hill & Kurt Russell
Stars: Kurt Russell, Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach, Peter Fonda, Cliff Robertson, Valeria Golino, Stacy Keach, Pam Grier and Bruce Campbell
The Pitch: “Hey, let’s reteam Carpenter and Russell for a new Snake Plissken yarn.”
Tagline: Snake Is Back.
The Overview: Beware of Spoilers…
Snake Plissken (Russell) is sent to the island of LA to retrieve a government device that can shut down all electronics worldwide. Snake has ten hours to get in, get the weapon and get out before he dies due to an injection of a lethal virus.
Sounds just like Escape from New York, right? It is… almost every beat is the same only not as good.
Escape from LA suffers from bad special effects and scenes that don’t play as well as the original. Remember when Snake had to fight Ox Baker with spiked baseball bats? In Escape from LA he has to make 5 baskets in 10 seconds playing full court. Remember in EFNY when Snake had to fight and escape from cannibals? In EFLA he has to fight and escape from a doctor who overuses plastic surgery. And don’t get me started about the surfing scene.
If you’re a fan of Snake Plissken and love EFNY, you might find Escape from LA tolerable. I liked it… but I loved Escape from New York.
Escape from LA rates 3 of 5 stars.
Rating:
