I always have a hard time watching Escape from New York. I want to take nothing away from Carpenter's film, but every time I watch it I keep thinking how much better it could be now. I do not want a remake, I just wish this movie had not been made yet. The story is so interesting and has been gutted for dozens of movies now, but there is something in the execution that has always left me feeling a little unsure of what I think.
The year is 1997 and crime became such a major issue that prisons were not working, so they turned Manhattan into a giant prison. There are no guards on the inside and Manhattan has a giant wall surrounding it. If you try to escape, you will be killed. Snake Plissken(A very growling Kurt Russell) is a former military specialist who became disillusioned with America and turned to a life of crime. He is caught and is about to be sent to his Manhattan prison when he is given a chance to wipe his record clean. All he has to do is save The President(Donald Pleasense with a British accent(?)), whose plane went down in Manhattan. Snake is given a walkie-talkie, a gun and a tracker and sent in by himself. While in Prison, we find out that everyone knows Snake and everyone assumed Snake was dead. The President is being held by Duke (Issac Hayes) who essentially runs the prison. With the help of Brain(Harry Dean Stanton), Snake attempts to weave his way through the prison to save Mr. President.
There are so many things to love about this movie: The set pieces, the awesome use of colors, the story and the random casting. They recreate a broken down Manhattan, with only the opening shot actually being NY and I love how the greens bleed into the shots as some sort of ominous sign. The Manhattan world is incredibly interesting with crazy costumes and a brilliant moment involving male prisoners dressed as women putting on a musical. Kurt Russell is a total bad ass with his low growl and eye patch and the supporting cast does alright, although Issac Hayes should have been played by someone with real chops. I love that Ernest Borgnine shows up as a cabbie for no other reason than it is Ernest Borgnine playing a cabbie. The pacing is excellent; there is rarely a moment when something exciting isn't happening. However, I am kind of spoiled with action movies and the guns firing and hand-to-hand fighting come off as very 1980s weak.
The gun shots all sound like they belong out of some space movie and the score is super cheesy sounding. I guess it is supposed to sound futuristic and of course, as 1997 is now 11 years ago, we know that 1997 was nothing like the future we imagine when we say "future." The hand-to-hand fighting looks awful , especially the big wrestling match. I wish it had looked more real. I know I am supposed to appreciate the movie for being what it was in 1981, but I think the story is so interesting, and part of it are so good, I just wish the movie could have a more real or gritty feel to it. I don't want to hear bullet shots and then have the guy getting shot turning like he was told to wait 3 seconds after the shot, and then act like he got hit.
I know, as a film geek, I am just supposed to accept these cult classics and praise them. I want to heap praise on this movie, but I am just never as impressed by it as I want to be or feel I am supposed to be. There is certainly a good movie in here and I do not want to sound like I do not enjoy the 1980s version of movies, but I am so fascinated that I want something to look more fresh. There was a movie released last year called Doomsday that was very much an homage to this movie and I really liked it because it was a more modern looking version of this interesting story. Like I said, I do not really want a remake, although I am not opposed to remakes on principal, I only wish John Carpenter had not made this movie so someone now could.
On a total side note, it is kind of difficult to watch in a post 9/11 world because the two towers are important to the movie.
Final Grade: C+
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