Lockout (2012)

nTitle: Lockout (2012)

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nDirectors: James Mather, Stephen St.nLeger

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nCast: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Peter Stormare

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nReview:

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nI love films that take place in space because space alwaysnhas this aura of danger to it. In these kinds of films you have to deal with thenidea that humans were not made to be in space, it is very obviously not ournnatural habitat. Not only that, space is quiet and lonely; I’ve never been upnto space, but you kind of get the idea that if you float a couple of hours upnthere in all that darkness, you’ll end up feeling disconnected from humanity. Tonme, it’s that quiet, that isolation, that imminent danger and risk factor thatnmakes it such a great setting for a movie to take place in. Plus, space is thengreat unknown, we know next to nothing about it except that it’s vast andnseemingly never ending. That mystery surrounding space is what pulls me in tonthese type of movies. So it’s no surprise that once Lockout was release I wasnthere as soon as I could to see it. How was it?

nLockout tells the story of a guy named Snow. He is wrongfullynaccused of a murder, so he is being sent to this super jail in space callednMS-1 where he will be held in suspended animation for 15 years to pay for his ‘crime’.nAt the same time, the presidents daughter, a young lady be the name of Emilie Warnock,nis visiting MS-1. She’s making sure that the prisoners are being treatedncorrectly and that the process of cryo-stasis is a reliable one. Rumors arenrunning around that turning convicts into popsicles has secondary effects onnthe inmates. Supposedly when unfrozen from a long sleep an inmate can suddenlynsuffer from space dementia or a bad case of the shakes. Others say that you cannhave nightmares while under cryo-stasis. Imagine having a nightmare that lastsnfor 15 years! Problems start when every single one of the inmates in MS-1 isnunfrozen are released! Now all the loons and psychos are running free throughnthe ship. First order of the day? Kidnap the Presidents daughter as ransom forntheir demands! So now, instead of being turned into a Popsicle himself, Snow isngoing to MS-1 to rescue the presidents’ daughter! Can he pull it off rightnsmack in the middle of a major jailbreak?

nGuy Pierce plays the super tough Snow, a guy who takes anlicking and keeps on ticking. You try and punch out a confession out of thisnguy, and he’ll spit a one liner for every punch you give him. You tell him he’sngoing to be frozen for the next fifteen years for a crime he didn’t commit andnhe tells you he’s looking forward to it. That’s right boys and girls; this isnthe kind of movie Lockout is, like something straight out of the eighties.nWhich means this is not a movie to be taken seriously at all, and if you didn’tnget that from simply watching the previews, well then I’m telling you, thisnmovie is brisk, fast paced and quick with a one liner. In fact, after a whilenyou kind of get the feeling that that’s the only language Snow speaks, not ansingle line of dialog from this guy is serious! He is a non stop barrage ofnjokes and sly remarks. Guy Pierce as the wisecracking Snow is part of whatnmakes this flick a little more watchable then it should be, other wise, had itnstarred someone like Mark Wahlberg, I don’t think I would have enjoyed it asnmuch.

nThis kind of film is tailor made for me; I’m the audience thatnstudios targeted to merchandise this film. I was raised on a steady diet of 80’snaction films like Die Hard (1988), Commando (1985), Lock-Up (1989) and Escapenfrom New Yorkn(1981). So of course I was going to go and watch this one. I mean the previews hailednit as a mix between Blade Runner (1982) and Escape from New York! But of course, previews will tellnyou anything to get your butt inside the movie theater. And that they didnbecause this film is nothing like Blade Runner, I don’t know where they dugnthat one out of. But it is a lot like Escape from New York, so I guess they only half lied onntheir advertising campaign. Same as Snake Plissken in Escape from New York, Snow is a guynwho’s treated like crap by the system. He’s going to be the scapegoat to paynfor someone elses crimes, he’s the guy the system loves to stump with theirnboot. Until the day they need him. When they need him they quickly change theirnattitudes. They offer him a full pardon, give him all the weapons and gadgets henneeds and send him on life threatening mission. What producers won’t tell younis that this film is also a bit like Escape from L.A. (1996) because it’s also about having tongo into a dangerous penitentiary to rescue the presidents’ daughter. Lockoutnalso has elements from films like Stuart Gordon’s campy and gory prison breaknfilm, Fortress (1992), but if I’m to be even more accurate I’d say its closernto Fortress 2 (2000) which takes place in a maximum security prison out innspace. The point is that this film is not very original, at all. Expect nonsurprises. This is a compilation of a lot of films that came before it.  

nBut so what, while watching Lockout you’ll notice that it’snobvious these guys knew the kind of b-movie they were making. They wanted anfilm filled with wise cracks, fast action and a happy ending. It’s a film madenby French guys playing the Hollywood game notenfor note. Luc Besson knows what American audiences want to see and he’s givingnit to them. It’s not unlike what the Italians did back in the day with filmsnlike 1990: The Bronx Warriors (1982), which by the way also has some similaritiesnwith Lockout. Another way to look at Lockout is that it works just like ThenTransporter films. You know they are not the best action films ever made ornground breaking or though provoking on any level. What The Transporter films donis play with a pre-established formula for an action film; but who cares right?nBecause it’s always cool to see Jason Statham driving fast cars and kicking somenass. Lockout is the same type of picture; originality is not a priority, thisnfilm is simply playing with the genre, which of course can be fun. Believabilitynis not the main concern here either; the filmmakers’ main concern is that younhave a good time at the movies. They want you too laugh and say “cool!” everynfive seconds. Unfortunately some of the effects work won’t make you say “cool”nevery five seconds. There’s this completely laughable and terribly achievedneffects sequence that has Snow stealing a futuristic motorcycle and ensuing onna high speed chase. The whole sequence was computer generated, but not in angood way. I nominate this sequence for worst computer animated sequence of thenyear. I mean, this one is right up there with the crappy aliens from TheDarkest Hour (2011). Worst part of all is that the filmmakers chose thisnterrible sequence to open their movie with!

nI respect Luc Besson as a filmmaker. When the guy is on, henmakes films like Leon:nThe Professional (1994) and The Fifth Element (1997). Currently he keepsndirecting European films that never see the light of day in America, andnproduces many others that do. As a producer, he doesn’t really care aboutnmaking quality films; he cares more about making money. The Transporter filmsnare a good example of this. Not the best films in the world, but they make anpretty penny, and they also allow new upcoming directors to stretch theirnartistic muscles and learn a thing or two about filmmaking. Lockout is one suchnfilm. It was directed by a duo of Besson protégés called James Mather and StephennSt. Leger; two guys with not a lot of real filmmaking experience in theirnhands, save for their short films, but hey, that’s how many great filmmakersnstart out, so maybe these guys will be the future. For now, we get their firstnsteps in filmmaking with Lockout. Final words on Lockout: I love space faringnadventures as much as the next guy (and this one had its moments) but some ofnthe effects work on Lockout are amateurish! At least the quick action and thennumerous one liners will keep you entertained. Unfortunately this is the kindnof movie you forget as soon as you leave the theater. It’s a quick fix fornsci-fi junkies like me self, but not a full course.

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nRating: 3 out of 5