Escape From New York Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1981

John Carpenter's Escape From New York depicts a future where New York City has been converted into a maximum-security prison where the toughest criminals are separated by the rest of humanity. When the President of the United States finds himself trapped in the midst of the anarchistic island, a daring rescue plan is devised where a hardened criminal will be sent to infiltrate the street gangs and criminal filth to retrieve the President and bring him off the island safely.

Escape From New York takes place in a near future where the entire island of Manhattan, New York has been converted to a maximum-security prison. Although there are no prison walls or guards to bar one's movement or life, there is also no escape from the island. Once condemned there, a criminal must either blend with one of the many street gangs that rule the nihilistic landmass or die by their savage hands.

Air Force One is taken over by terrorists as the President of the United States (Donald Pleasence) is being transported to a crucial world meeting. The terrorists force the plane to crash in New York and the President is quickly taken prisoner by the head honcho of all the New York gangs, a menacing figure known as The Duke (Isaac Hayes).

A military rescue is impossible since the hostage would be killed, so Bob Hauk (Lee Van Cleef), a government bureaucrat, comes up with a desperate plan to send in a criminal by the name of Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) to seek out and return the President safely. There's just one problem with the seemingly perfect plan: Plissken is an ex-special forces hero that has no desire to cooperate with this scheme. Unfortunately for him, his cooperation no longer becomes a choice when explosives are injected into his bloodstream. If he fails to return with the President within 24 hours, the miniature bombs in his bloodstream will explode and kill him. I'm surprised people don't use such negotiation tactics today since it seems like a pretty effective technique to me. But I digress…

With an imminent countdown to death clicking away, Plissken enters the prison and sets out to save the President's life. That is, if he can protect his own life first, for New York is a dangerous place and The Duke is an ominous foe.

Escape From New York was released in 1981, so unfortunately 20+ years later it does appear a bit dated. For example, the "recent future" depicted in the movie is the year 1997. Ooops! But you can't blame Carpenter for placing the date of 1997 on the movie. After all, if society were cooperative it would already have imploded in a worldwide Armageddon, thereby making his dark future come true. It's not his fault we somehow managed to remain civilized through the years.

Small things like the timeline can be ignored, because even today the film has a slightly futuristic appearance. There aren't lasers or UFOs flying around; the technology is pretty much what we possess today, and the dark atmosphere of the movie depicts what society might look like if we took a turn for the worse in the years to come.

The sets are a bit cheap when compared to today's excessively big budgets, but they get the job done. New York looks like a decrepit city left to the ravages of time (oh yeah, and those violent maniacs that reside there).

You won't find any award-winning acting in this film, but Kurt Russell just oozed a menacing coolness throughout. Snake Plissken is the very definition of a bad ass; he's got the look, the combat skills, the attitude and some edgy one-liners. No hero can do without a couple of those.

All the supporting actors also lend their characters the appropriate qualities. Isaac Hayes' depiction of The Duke was particularly fun to watch; he's one tough hombre and the perfect nemesis for Plissken.

It's said that imitation is the ultimate form of flattery, and if that's true then B-movie producers flattered the hell out of Carpenter's gem after witnessing its worldwide success. Quite a few similar post-apocalyptic yarns were released, a good deal of them being Italian productions. Some were horrid, others like 2019: After the Fall of New York weren't all that bad when put in proper perspective. But none managed to achieve the same appeal and "coolness" as the granddaddy of them all: Escape From New York.

Yes, yes… I realize I committed an editorial gaffe by using the word "coolness" twice within the last couple paragraphs. In fact as I write this I'm having bad visions of my English high school classes. "Don't be repetitive in your word selection and style!" "Where's your thesaurus, boy!?" Well, with apologies to all my past teachers I have to say the heck with such rules. If the shoe fits, you wear it – and Escape From New York is a cool movie!

If you're looking for a slice of 80's action featuring a tough-as-nails anti-hero that you can't help rooting for, Escape From New York is the perfect dish for you. It may not be a movie classic, but it left an indelible mark on the decade and still stands strong to this day.

Movie rating: 8 stars

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