Escape From L.A. (1996) | Full-Length Commentary
Added 2022-01-04 20:01:03 +0000 UTCFull-Length Commentary for Escape From L.A. (1996)
This is a watch-along. You need your own copy of the film.
Comments
This movie. Whew. I've tried several times over the years to meet it halfway and see it as a satire or an action/comedy and it just is not good, no matter how you approach it. I like Cliff Robertson as the Bible-thumping President and Russell looks like he's having fun, but that's about it. Cheap CGI aside (and it looked bad to us back in 1996 too), the satirical stuff just falls completely flat for me. Facelifts! Obnoxious agents! Road rage! Boy oh boy this L.A. is some kinda wacky, I tell ya. And Carpenter says he prefers it to the first movie! The mind boggles. There was talk of a "Snake Plissken in outer space" sequel for a while, because of course, and apparently Carpenter's GHOST OF MARS began as a Plissken story, but eventually the character was stripped out of the story and turned into a new character played by Ice Cube, because of course. Not that it would matter much anyway because MARS was just Carpenter remaking Howard Hawks' RIO BRAVO again. He seems happier now that filmmaking is behind him and he's spending his time getting high, playing video games and composing new HALLOWEEN scores.
Patrick Flanagan
2022-01-05 08:55:14 +0000 UTCEscape From New York is one of my absolute favourites. And when I saw this sequel in the cinema back in the day I was in my mid-teens, I was so excited, and I had an absolute blast. Even then, the CGI was questionable at best, and of course, it looks even worse today (but it's become part of its charm). It's been a few years since I last watched this, I enjoyed it just as much as I did back in the day, and I enjoyed your reaction. And yes, I'd love to see them somehow pull out another sequel, with Kurt Russell of course.
Stephen
2022-01-05 01:43:40 +0000 UTC
