In the early months of 2013 audiences everywhere were overwhelmed with the amount of testosterone-filled action flicks that typically didn't see the light of day until the prime to late summer months, but this was different as each of these were more a solo effort from a band of well-tested performers that did well enough together, but couldn't pass up the temptation of breaking out on their own. Whether it be Arnold Schwarzenegger's fun and entertaining comeback flick
The Last Stand, Sylvester Stallone's bleak and dreary
Bullet to the Head or even Jason Statham's five-hundredth attempt at playing a hit man in
Parker or Bruce Willis taking up the ole McClain name again for another
Die Hard go around, the fact of the matter is that none of these performed all too well and left most of us simply yearning for a time when they all re-unite and turn out another
Expendables movie (except for you Bruce Willis, you greedy bastard!). Needless to say, this didn't bode well for the other flick Stallone and Schwarzenegger teamed up to make this year; originally titled
The Tomb and later changed to
Escape Plan. But hey, at least they were pairing up for this one which had to mean some level of excitement would follow, right? While this could most definitely be debated and likely go either way with plenty of support on either side I was personally pretty excited to see what kind of over-the-top antics these guys could get into and put up on screen at their age. And while they may not be the marquee names or box office draws that they used to be on their own,
Escape Plan is a more than competent action flick with such an outlandishly intriguing plot and strong sense of pacing that we never get bored, are never taken out of the plot turns and are right in the thick of the conflict with Stallone's Ray Breslin and Schwarzenegger's Emil Rottmayer that we don't care to step back and examine its shortcomings or bother to comment on the acting. Reality is checked at the door and despite the fact this will be one of those films that will play countless times on HBO and eventually FX where it will no doubt be easier to take it for what it is I can't say I didn't enjoy myself to the fullest as I experienced what is the pure definition of unabashed, unadulterated B-movie brilliance.
