Kurt Russell with an eye patch is truly terrifying!
Eighties sci-fi with Kurt Russell and Ernest Borgnine, about a maximum security prison which has been placed over the island of Manhattan, which becomes the setting for a rescue attempt on the president.
Russell plays the infamous Snake Plissken, a convicted bank robber on his way to the aforementioned mega-prison, when the president’s plane, Air Force One, is shot down. The president manages to evacuate the plane before collision, but is left stranded in this snake pit of convicted felons, who take him hostage in order to negotiate their freedom.
The powers that be decide to use Snake to infiltrate the prison, locate the president, and extract him safely. Snake is loaded up with weapons and tech, as well as a virus which will automatically kill him in 24 hours, unless he returns with the president, and sent in.
An exciting storyline, and a wonderful premise (how many times have right-wing commentators proposed the idea of an island for convicts), it is interesting to see how such an idea would play out. Unfortunately, John Carpenter’s film has not aged well - the homemade soundtrack in particular dates the film significantly, whilst the fights scenes and script are clumpy and awkward.
A film to watch if you are a fan of eighties cheese, Kurt Russell, or futuristic right-wing ideology, but, if like the vast majority of intelligent thinkers you are not a fan, this film will probably leave you looking for an escape from Escape From New York!
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