Escape from New York Movie Review

Escape from New York (1981)

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Written by: John Carpenter, Nick Castle
Directed by: John Carpenter
Starring: Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Isaac Hayes, Harry Dean Stanton, Adrienne Barbeau
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
In 1997 the U.S. president crashes into Manhattan, now a giant maximum security prison, and convicted bank robber Snake Plissken must rescue him.

Verdict
With a great concept and stoic anti-hero Snake Plissken played by prime Kurt Russell, this is a fun ride. This seems like a gritty '80s action movie, but it upends the typical formula with a character that is completely selfish. Snake's mission is pure self-survival, and that's more honest than the typical action movie. From the setting to the main character, it's just cool. With a built in countdown clock, the tension remains high. I appreciate how this movie repudiates the typical action movie with the self sacrificing hero.
Watch it.

Review
I love the concept that Manhattan island is a giant prison. There are no guards inside, just walls to keep prisoners inside. This movie is a bit cheesy, with the President in danger and a character with the name of Snake, but it is enjoyable.

Snake is sent into the prison to save the President. Since the Police Chief knows Snake won't help due to empathy, they implant a ticking time bomb inside Snake. He's got twenty one hours to return or he'll die. 

Kurt Russell plays Snake Plissken.

The 3-d model of the buildings as Snake enters the prison in a drone are a physical model with green tape to fake a 3-d look. CGI would have been cost prohibitive.

This is a gritty '80s action movie. You like Snake because he's so stoic it's almost comical. These commando save the world movies can be hokey. There is often no incentive to risk life and limb to save whatever conceit the movie presents. This movie provides an anti-hero that's not doing it because he's magnanimous. He only wants to save his own skin. Snake journeys through a war zone because his own life is on the line. In the prison, he's a celebrity.

This thrill ride through post apocalypse looking New York keeps the tension high as the timer on Snake's wrist denotes how many hours he has left to live.

Plissken races against the clock, and I won't reveal what happens, but the President does live. When asked about the people who died to save him, the President offers meaningless platitudes. That's why Snake didn't want to risk his life. Doing the right thing isn't always worth it, and this move questions every action movie with a hero that risks his life without a thought of the repercussions. This a realistic portrayal from both sides, from the guy tasked with saving and the guy being saved. In this movie the honesty is that they both only value their own lives.