If you were to mash up Die Hard, Escape From New York, and Demolition Man, then toss in a healthy helping of B-Movie moments that turn certain bad movies into guilty pleasures, you come out with something like Lockout.
While film scholars and high brow movie reviewers tend to tear the living limbs from productions like this, it’s not to say that there is a time, place, and good ride to be had from the ‘check your brain at the door’ movie experience. And I categorize Lockout firmly into that genre.
From the house of Luc Besson (writer/director of The Fifth Element and The Professional), which has produced recent action fare like Taken starring Liam Neeson, and the Jason Statham rock’em sock’em Transporter movies, Lockout is a briskly paced sci-fi actioner that finds its greatest asset squarely in its star Guy Pearce. The overall tone of the film is set in the opening interrogation scene where Pearce is beaten while being questioned, who mutters nothing but careless sarcasm following each pounding punch.
The year is 2079 and ex-government agent Snow (Pearce), is framed for the murder of his friend during a raid gone wrong, and is promptly sentenced to extended hyper sleep at MS One, an experimental cryogenic facility orbiting the Earth. Complicating the situation is Emilie Warnock (Maggie Grace), the daughter of the US President who while visiting the outer space facility to investigate inhumane side effects on the frozen prisoners, manages to get herself and her team taken hostage during a rather abrupt inmate uprising that showcases the joint’s piss poor precautionary security. Agent Snow is recruited and given the option of taking the infiltrate and rescue mission in return for his freedom.
By design, Lockout is not out to wow you with Inception-esque plot twists, lavish ILM special effects (frankly there are two cringe-worthy sequences that I’m equally amazed and offended that made it into the final cut), or fleshed out characters that will break any molds seen in countless other films.
What holds this action romp together from beginning to end is Guy Pearce, who plays Snow with an unrelenting aura of spit-in-your-face arrogance while holding a gun in one hand, a giving the middle finger with the other. While scheming and outsmarting numerous violent inmate adversaries, Pearce delivers sharp wisecrack laced dialogue in between cigarette drags that would even make John McClane proud. But as this all goes down, you also find yourself asking that despite Lockout‘s B-Movie paint-by-numbers screenplay beats, what other exploits could possibly await Snow in another big screen adventure? The pitched tagline here could very well be “Die Hard In A Space Prison,” but you’d damn sure be willing to see what missions impossible Snow finds himself facing in further movies.
The rest of the cast do what they can with their roles. Maggie Grace has substantial screen time, but has to walk the line of playing the privileged daughter with the sudden hidden tough side, but yet naive enough to think her father the President won’t bend every protocol of national security to save his daughter if need be.The villains are run of the mill thugs with the lone thinker taking charge of the hostage situation.
Lockout will find a fine lengthy afterlife through Sunday afternoon couch viewing. Is it entertaining and fun? Sure if you treat it for what it is and take it only as seriously as Snow’s attitude throughout the film.We’ve all found fun being parked out in front of the likes of Point Break, Flash Gordon, and Demolition Man on occasion over the years. And from what was set up here, it would be far from the worst thing to see a series of similar roller coaster adventures for Snow to snark and shoot his way through.
REVIEW RATING: ★★☆☆☆
Directed By: James Mather, Stephen St. Leger
Starring: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Peter Stormare, Lennie James
Studio: Film District, Open Road Pictures
Rated: PG-13
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