Escape Plan (2/4/2014)

Rated R for violence and language throughout.

Starring Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Caviezel, Sam Neill, Vincent D’Onofrio, Vinnie Jones, Amy Ryan and 50 Cent

Directed by Mikael Hafstrom (The Rite)

I kept looking for a way to escape the theater.

One of the world’s foremost authorities on structural security agrees to take on one last job: breaking out of an ultra-secret, high-tech facility called “The Tomb.” Deceived and wrongly imprisoned, Ray Breslin (Sylvester Stallone) must recruit fellow inmate Emil Rottmayer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to help devise a daring, nearly impossible plan to escape from the most protected and fortified prison ever built.

Like any Sly movie there are major holes in the plot. So let’s look at some, just for fun.

First, there is the fact that Ray has been escaping from prisons for 8 years, implying (to me at least) that he has both witnessed and experienced some horrible abuse. But Ray tries to tap out within 5 minutes of his new assignment and then looks like a fish out of water once he is processed.

Another hole is the army of guards. They look really cool in their full black uniforms and masks, but there isn’t a single guard who could hit the broad side of a barn. This entire army is unable to shoot three guys who are barely jogging.

So besides the holes in the story there are the actors. I left the theater thinking, “This movie would have been great 25 years ago.” But seeing these senior citizens fight and carry on was ridiculous. In one scene Schwarzenegger lifts the gun off the helicopter and begins to mow down the bad guys, and let’s just say he looks even sillier in slow motion.

It doesn’t end there…someone decided to cast 50 Cent as the genius technician. They also decided to put glasses on him to make him look smarter…it didn’t help.

The lone stand out was Jim Caviezel who is really good at being bad. But he wasn’t enough to make this a great movie.

There really aren’t any good reasons to see it…so “Skip It.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
This film is rated R because of all the violence and the language. There are over 50 F words and an even higher body count, so I would say no.

CONVERSATION STARTER

1. What were the three things Ray said are necessary in order to break out of any prison? (knowing the layout, knowing the routine and help from inside or outside)


2. Why do you think “help from inside or outside” is so important?


3. Read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
   
   Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.
   
   How was this verse true for Ray?


4. How has this verse been true in your life?


5. What can you do this week to strengthen your friendships?