"Against this backdrop Carpenter launches a visual effects fantasy that reaches heights so absurd that theres a giddy delight in the outrage. He generates heedlessness and joy in scenes such as the one where the hero surfs on a tsunami wave down Wilshire Boulevard and leaps onto the back of a speeding convertible. Its as if he gave himself license to dream up anything—to play without a net. This is the kind of movie “Independence Day” could have been if it hadnt played it safe."
Escape from L.A. is a 1996 American post-apocalyptic action film co-written, co-scored, and directed by John Carpenter, co-written and produced by Debra Hill and Kurt Russell, with Russell reprising his role as Snake Plissken. A sequel to Escape from New York (1981), the film co-stars Steve Buscemi, Stacy Keach, Bruce Campbell, Peter Fonda, and Pam Grier.
"[facing four gunmen at once] Im gonna give you assholes a chance. What do you say we play a little Bangkok rules? [picks up a tin can] Nobody draws until this hits the ground. You ready? [throws can up, draws, kills all four before it lands] Draw."
Escape from L.A."Escape from L.A. is better than the first movie. Ten times better. It’s got more to it. It’s more mature. It’s got a lot more to it. I think some people didn’t like it because they felt it was a remake, not a sequel... I suppose it’s the old question of whether you like Rio Bravo or El Dorado better? They’re essentially the same movie. They both had their strengths and weaknesses."
Escape from L.A."So, I agree, the effects arent always charming and sometimes a little, bizarrely awful. The other thing I would level at Escape from L.A. is that it doesnt really justify its 1996 $50 million budget. The aforementioned Jurassic Park had a budget of only $65 million and look what that accomplished. However, a little in its defense, every single shot in Escape from L.A. has some form of effect, whacked out costume, matte painting, set dressing etc. Its a bonkers, punk, grindhouse, fucked up, grungy, comic book, B-Movie writ large."
Escape from L.A."John Carpenters “Escape From L.A.” is a go-for-broke action extravaganza that satirizes the genre at the same time its exploiting it. Its a dark vision of a post-apocalyptic Los Angeles—leveled by a massive earthquake, cut off from the mainland by a flooded San Fernando Valley, and converted into a prison camp for the nations undesirables."
Escape from L.A."Movies like this depend on w:visual effects, costumes and set design to create their worlds out of scratch, and “Escape From L.A.” is wall-to-wall with the landmarks of a post-earthquake L.A. We see the Chinese theater, the Hollywood Bowl and a beached ocean liner, and the showdown takes place in an amusement park intended, I think, to suggest Disneylands Main Street USA. Snake finds his way through the deadly wilderness with a series of guides, including Pipeline (Peter Fonda), a has-been surfer; Taslima (Valeria Golino), a beautiful but doomed street person; Map-to-the-Stars Eddie (Steve Buscemi), who is the “guy to see” about anything, and the exotic Hershe (Pam Grier), a transsexual who once befriended Snake back in Cleveland, where he/she was known as Carjack."
Escape from L.A."It has been 16 years since Snakes exploits in New York City. Hes once again arrested, this time for a series of moral crimes, and sentenced to exile on the prison island. However, hes recruited, once again against his will, to retrieve the remote. In exchange, his criminal record will be expunged and he can start anew. As his next adventure progresses, Snake meets a group of individuals, which include Heshe Las Palmas, a transsexual gang leader played by Pam Grier, "Map to the Stars" Eddie, played by Steve Buscemi, and the seductive Taslima, played by Valeria Golino. Taslima has been sent to L.A. for the simple fact that she is Muslim. She later confides in Snake that despite the anarchistic nature of her new surroundings, she feels its the only place one could be absolutely free, since the outside world has in one way or another created a prison of its own. Similar to the original film, these various characters aid Plissken in navigating his way through the former tinsel town, foiling the villains plot and returning to the mainland. It is there, when the time comes for Snake to hand over the device, that he realizes the true power of the weapon he has helped to secure, which guarantees victory for whoever possesses it. Realizing this, Snakes comes to the conclusion that no one should wield that much power and hits the reset button, erasing the last several hundred years of technological advancements, sending us back to the Stone Age. Our iconic anti-hero then proceeds to break the fourth wall by giving the audience one final badass look; leaving us to venture into a world that may be even more dangerous than the one we just left behind. "Welcome to the human race," he states."
Escape from L.A.