Oh Carpenter, how I love thee. Escape from New York is yet another one to add on the long list of classics the man churned out one after another during the 70's and 80's and into the early 90's. His catalogue is impressive and in general you are in good hands when watching one of his movies, for which this is no exception. Once again taking a very simple premise and basing the entire experience on a thick atmosphere, Escape is a riveting watch that draws you into its world, which is as expected fantastically designed and very effective, and never lets go. Shot mostly at night (no bullshit filters), it is a grim vision of a future New York…

I think, on the whole, that I would probably say that Escape From New York is one of my least favourite John Carpenter films - and yet here I am giving it 4/5.

It's not as if it really has any major problems or anything like that - it maybe just takes a bit too long to get started and possibly lacks excitement in several scenes, plus I wasn't as keen on this Kurt Russell performance as some of his others, especially in Carpenter films. Talk about getting the bad news out of the way first, though, because there are so many positives in this film.

The cast is tremendously classy for a start. Populating it with excellent veterans such…

This is a very patient film. Nearly the entire first half of the movie is set up. There is minimal dialogue, and the words that are spoken are all part of defining the world that the movie is set in, and its rules. You can tell that a director with a horror background is behind the camera on this film. The framing / music / and general atmosphere looks / sounds / and feels very much in line with the tropes of a horror film.

This is really a showcase for Kurt Russell. He plays it straight through the entire film. His character, Snake Plissken, is a hard nose bad ass that doesn't take crap from anyone. he never even…

Okay look.

John Carpenter is my favorite director of all time. I'll pretty much eat up anything he serves me. But I... I just couldn't get invested in this one. There's your normal wonderful Carpenter slow pace, and then there's this, which is just directionless and, frankly, kind of boring. What little plot there is is stretched far too thin, the stakes never feel as high as they should be, and for God's sake has a cast this great ever been this underused?

But I think the real problem here is Snake Plissken. He's... not that badass you guys. It's all posturing, what with the eyepatch and the dumb growl and the whole "I though you were dead" thing. But…

Het is een fantastisch plot. De toekomst van het verleden. Het is 1997. Manhattan is veranderd in een gevangenis, waar het grootste tuig hun dagen slijt. De gigantische muur zorgt dat niemand naar buiten kan. Maar dan crasht de president van Amerika er met zijn vliegtuig.

Snake Plissken (Kurt Russel) was een oorlogsheld, maar is sinds hij een bank overviel een gevaarlijk man. Toch ziet baas van de gevangenis Hauk (gespeeld door enorme baas Lee 'Angel Eyes' Van Cleef) in hem de perfecte man voor de bevrijdingsmissie. Als hij binnen 24 uur terug is met de president, is hij een vrij man, zo niet, sterft Plissken.

John Carpenter regisseerde Escape from New York. Uiteraard bekend van horrorfilms, maakte hij met…