Lockout

Come on people, watch it for what it is. Yes it's silly, it's supposed to be. It looks great and slides down easy. Guy Pearce is a blast to watch as he struts and mouths off throughout the film in a manner I haven't seen since Bruce Willis in the Last Boy Scout. This is an 80's action movie at it's core set in space. One of failures of recent action movies trying to be an 80's action flick is that they forgot that the hero needs to go up against a memorable villain. In this we get 2 brothers that actually deliver the goods. Add in a fancy Star Wars inspired ending and you have fine Friday night escape.

Don't think too hard and enjoy the trip.

It is the year 2079 and the worst offenders are sentenced to serve their time in stasis aboard the orbiting MS-1 prison. Emilie Warnock, the US president's daughter goes to the facility to investigate claims that stasis damages the prisoners' mental stability. She is allowed to interview one prisoner but things go badly wrong... he disarms her bodyguard, injures her and soon frees the other prisoners. The only thing protecting her is that they don't know who she is. Back on Earth a CIA operative named Snow is being interrogated on suspicion of treason; he is sentenced to thirty years on MS1 but when news of Emilie's situation breaks he is asked to undertake a rescue mission; he isn't keen but the one man who might prove his innocence is also there. Getting in, finding Emilie and getting out safely will not be easy.

This might not be the greatest of films but if you can suspend your disbelief it provides plenty of thrilling action. The plot is basically a version of that used in 'Escape From New York'... so much so that the makers of that film successfully sued for plagiarism; that shouldn't be a problem for the viewer though as is a solid plot device that works in both films. The cast is solid; most obviously Guy Pierce and Maggie Grace as Snow and Emelie. Also notable are Vincent Regan and Joe Gilgun as the leader of the prisoners and his psychotic brother and Lennie James as CIA officer Harry Shaw. The special effects are more the most part really impressive. Overall I'd say this film is definitely worth a watch if you enjoy action is a sci-fi setting.

I loved Guy Pearce as snow, he was the perfect mix of quippy and action hero. The supporting characters were well cast and well acted. The storyline itself was unique and interesting and had a solid twist ending. The cinematography was well done on the still shots, but the CGI scenes played out weird. The main characters were lacking a bit of chemistry. But overall a solid action movie.

When I watched Lockout, I didn't even know it was from Luc Besson until I saw his name at the start of the movie. This got me excited remembering how I like his past films especially "The Fifth Element". Besson's films seem to have that unique polish and style that places them in a class between A and B movies. They always have some ludicrous scenes and effects included similar to B movies but they are definitely justified in the end by how much "Class A" fun and twists the overall experience it generates for the viewers. If we measure this movie on those aspects, Lockout is no different from Luc's other films although this one is special in a way that it brought back fond memories for people like me who were already actively seeing films like this back in the 80's and 90's. Lockout is a modern version of those films with some new concepts added from this era.

Some of the non-Besson films/TV series that Lockout reminded me of are Army of Darkness, Cowboy Bebop, Die Hard, Escape from New York, Fortress, Firefly / Serenity, Minority Report, and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

I can see that Lockout, like most of the other movies I previously specified, can also have a cult following. So I truly hope the current generation will like this movie enough to give it a chance to have a sequel. Sometimes, you just need to relax your mind and allow it just the right amount of activity to enjoy a fun cruise like this type of films can provide. More power to Mr. Besson!

First off, Lockout is not meant to be taken seriously. It is a fun action sci-fi movie that breaks the boundaries of what it physically possible. Remember when you were a kid playing with your little action figures in the sandbox, well that is how they designed Lockout. They forgot about what is real and what can actually be done and simply had fun.

Guy Pearce is hilarious and teamed up with Maggie Grace the laughs just keep rolling. It is an action, sci-fi, comedy that is amazingly well crafted if you can take your thinking cap off and just have fun. There are a few plot twists, but nothing you didn't see coming. While Lockout doesn't really bring anything completely new to the table, it is very entertaining and well worth multiple viewings.

Due to mixed reviews I did not expect much, but Lockout really impressed me with its style and fast paced action. Other reviews has said that the special effects looked terrible, that is simply because of the style. One thing Lockout has is style and solid direction and cinematography. They knew what they were doing with this movie and they pulled it off perfectly.

The PQ & AQ were great on Blu-ray and while the special features were lacking, it is still a solid Blu-ray release.

Recommended!