User reviews

Sure, Snake Plissken is a relic from the ultra-macho 80s action craze. Sure, Carpenter's use of effects is often obvious (though occasionally brilliant). Sure, the film is nothing but a slab of highly fragrant cheese, but it's FUN cheese. It's unapologetic cheese. It's the extra $1.50 of gooey, greasy, slimey mozza that you throw onto your 16" meat-lover's... sure, it's excessive--maybe even unhealthy--but it makes the pizza.

Escape From L.A. is pure, unabashed, old-fashioned fun. It's one of those movies that everyone claims they hate, but they really love in that deep place, way down in their mind, where belching contests are still fun. It doesn't pretend to be anything more than entertainment--and it's good entertainment at that. When I first saw the trailers for this film, I groaned. Kurt Russell's faux-Eastwood-does-pirate routine rubbed me the wrong way, and I was unfamiliar with John Carpenter's work. After having seen the original Escape, Halloween, The Fog, Vampires, The Thing and especially Big Trouble In Little China I know that Carpenter is interested in one thing: giving his audience an escape from reality, and this film is perfect for that. It doesn't make a lot of sense, and it takes a lot of suspension of disbelief, but in to paraphrase Roger Ebert: Who can hate a film where Kurt Russell and a transsexual Pam Grier swoop from the sky in hang-gliders firing automatic weapons at an amusement park compound?

Add to the mix a delightful turn by Steve Buscemi and an amusing (albeit unrecognizable) cameo by Bruce "Don't Call Me Ash" Campbell, and you have a really fun, really dumb, really cool MOVIE!

Recommended for the 10 year old boy in all of us.

Now "Escape from New York" is a darker, grim action thriller that suits the environment where the story takes place. When one thinks of New York, you think of a dark, seedy, big, bad city. This is not what comes to mind when one thinks of L.A. You would think sunny, plastic and strangely creepy. Hence the change in tone with this looser, tongue in cheek near self-parody. Now the reason why I say the film still works is Snake Plissken. The only character who is played completely straight against the stable of B-movie cliches and skewed Hollywood stereotypes. Maybe in a few years this film will gain the respect it deserves. Still, although I reasonably enjoyed the picture (especially a few choice cuts like the "Bangkok rules" scene) I must admit I liked the first one better too.

That sums up one of the most undeniable aspects about this flick: It is enormously reminiscent of the first. Whether or not that's a negative thing is up to the individual. It still holds great surprises, and is definitely a fun ride. There is more satire in this than the first. The tone of this is often overdone and campy, in stark contrast to how serious that of "New York" was, and there are those that will miss that. This is humorous, if a few gags and jokes fall flat. Everyone but Russell(who nails the part again) is newly cast, and the choices are all fitting. This has some rather memorable occurrences(a couple of them for sheer weirdness and imagination), and certainly puts several breathtaking visuals up on the screen. The effects vary, though there are excellent ones herein. Dialog has quotable lines, and is well-delivered. The music is cool. Cinematography and editing are marvelous. The acting holds good performances. While it does bear a striking resemblance to that of the original movie, the script of this is interesting, creative and well-done. It has a nice pace, and you gotta admit that it's packed with action. Each sequence is exciting and intense, and differs from the rest in some way. There is strong violence and language in this, as well as disturbing content. This is bigger than the '81 film. Unfortunately, it also cost a larger amount of money, and only made about half back. It's too bad that Carpenter's work has a tendency to not be appreciated by the masses(only the fans and/or cult following) when it is initially released. I recommend this to anyone who wishes to watch it, the two aforementioned groups in particular. 6/10

"Escape from New York" is by no means a classic film, but it's memorably dark, seedy, suspenseful and even funny. You might call it a worthy cult favorite. Alas, "Escape from L.A." is not nearly as memorable - in fact, it plays out like a tired remake of its far more amusing predecessor.

Both films have essentially the same premise; corrupt government officials send criminal tough guy "Snake" Plissken to infiltrate the ruins of a once-great city and retrieve some MacGuffin for them. In both films, Snake is reluctant to cooperate, but the government secures his compliance by threatening his life. So, Snake duly treks off to an urban wasteland, wasting thugs and meeting a variety of wacky characters on his way to completing his desperate mission.

Because the two films are so similar, I find "Escape from L.A." tedious - it simply doesn't break enough new ground. And, to make matters worse, this tepid sequel does everything worse than the original movie. The villain is inferior, the president is inferior, and even the special effects are inferior (note the positively laughable CGI when Snake pilots his submarine to L.A.; the approach to New York in the first film is infinitely classier.)

And, though both films are comedies (of a sort), I find that the jokes in the first are simply better. In "L.A.," there are some attempts at social satire, but by and large they don't work. For instance, the much-praised "plastic surgery" segment feels really isolated and pointless to me. It's a one-joke sequence that goes nowhere and contributes nothing to the plot. Ultimately, I think the first film has the edge in the comedy department because it was co-written by Nick Castle, who reportedly lightened up the script and was quite a wit in general (though Castle is credited on this movie, I believe it's only because he wrote the original film.)

Perhaps the crowning aggravation of "Escape from L.A." is its exceedingly preachy social commentary. Now, I happen to be fairly liberal, so I agree with some of this film's criticisms of the religious right - but I also find the presentation of these criticisms to be superficial, condescending, and obnoxious. To be perfectly blunt, this movie is not literate enough to have serious political aims. It's just too silly and in-your-face; it doesn't have the subtlety to work as a satire, and it certainly lacks balance. Suffice to say, if you're conservative, this movie will annoy you, and even if you're an open-minded liberal, it will probably still annoy you by representing your views so poorly.

Yeah, this is basically a dud, though I sort of enjoy the Luddite-like sentiments in the concluding scenes. It's got some good cameos, a few decent scenes, but in the end...it just ain't the original. What a waste of 50 million bucks!

So, recently if seen this amazing movie again, sitting on my couch and listening to this incredible genius made music. I really don't know, why most of the people prefer Escape from N.Y. When I first saw N.Y. it really didn't get me. But one must be said for sure: ESCAPE FROM L.A. DO HAVE THE BEST ENDING I'VE EVER SEEN IN A MOVIE MADE UNTIL NOW! So all of you, who haven't seen it yet, go get it!

PS: Sorry, if there are some gramatical errors, but my English isn't that good.

Snake Plissken is back in action in this explosive post-apocalyptic cult classic sequel to Escape From New York (1981) directed again by John Carpenter.

Once again the infamous anti-hero (now in black leather), Snake (Kurt Russell) is forced to take on another mission, this time he must recover a potential doomsday device from Los Angeles, now an island of the damned where undesirables are deported.

Escape From LA. Is much lighter than its predecessor, although it comes with a similar plot, it is full of cheesy CGI effects, big explosions and plenty of action parody fun.

The characters are much more likeable and interesting than previously. Great performances from Steve Buscemi and Pam Grier. Look out for Bruce Campbell.

The scenery feels brighter too, with a lot more life in it highlighting the buzz of a crazy 2013 Hollywood.

Although I found this dystopian B-movie to be packed to the rafters with silliness I much preferred this to Escape From New York which just fell flat to me.

If you don't mind your cheese thick then this one's for you!

An earthquake opens up new opportunity, to isolate an immoral community, those who break the rules and laws, do not fight for the good cause, they will not go unpunished, there's no impunity. Alas, things haven't gone to plan, as the President's daughter has upped and ran, and she's taken Sword of Damocles, into Los Angeles and joined their big cheese, we need recovery, and we've identified our man.

Good old Snake Plissken begrudgingly takes on another mission of recovery, although you may need some time to recover, after enduring the spectacularly awful special defects of the day, an awful script and some pretty tawdry performances all round. Not the directors best work.

Both Escape from New York and Escape from L.A. are decidedly anti-establishment films. They both have this cynical view of the government; in these films, the government is not to be trusted. There are terrorist attacks aimed at the government on both films. ESCAPE FROM L.A This second one is tongue in cheek every step of the way. Watching Escape from L.A. feels like watching a cheap Italian Rip Off like 2019: After the Fall of New York (1983), but with a bigger budget. Actually, Escape from L.A. has a lot of similarities with 2019: After the Fall of New York, so in a way, this is Carpenter's pay back for all those cheap Escape from New York rip offs that the Italians made. Ultimately, I love both Escape from New York and Escape from L.A. for different reasons. And for all the tonal differences between both films, they still have many similarities. No matter where, Snake Plissken will always be Snake Plissken, you can tell Russell has lots of love for this character. Plissken is what kept me watching. The opening and closing segments of the films are extremely similar as well. And here's where we get to the best part of the film, the ending. Not gonna spoil it don't worry, but I will tell you that it is the best thing about the movie. Russell himself came up with it and I applaud him for it, it encapsulates everything Snake Plissken is in terms of attitude. That idea that maybe the world would be better off if we simply started again, from scratch, screw the way things are, let's try something new! Welcome to the human race my friends, welcome to the human race.t does criticize fascist forms of government, it also criticizes rebellious leaders who instigate their followers towards committing violent acts. So it doesn't side with anyone. On this film, both sides are wrong. The film pleads for a new beginning, it's asking governments to forget their old grudges and start from scratch. Snake himself says it in one scene: "I shut down the third world, you win, they loose. I shut down America, they win, you loose. The more things change, the more they stay the same" This is one of the ideas presented in the film that I truly liked. The idea that both sides should just call it quits and bring on the peace, bring on the freedom. Again, this last bit demonstrates how much of Kurt Russell's Libertarian views are on this film. After all, he wrote a lot of it himself along with John Carpenter and Debra Hill. These are three life long buddies writing a movie they would find amusing, which makes this film a labor of love. This is probably why the film has a more laid back, 'were having fun here' vibe to it.

In 2000, when a powerful earthquake hits Los Angeles, the decadent city turns into an island. Then the criminals and outcast of the moralist laws created by the American president (Cliff Robertson) are deported permanently to the island.

In 2013, the daughter of the president, Utopia (A.J. Langer), is seduced by the terrorist Cuervo Jones (George Corraface) and flees to Los Angeles to meet him with a remote control capable to use satellites to destroy all electronic devices in any country that opposes to USA and allows the president to dominate the world. Now Cuervo is threatening to attack USA with Third World forces using the satellite control.

Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is ready to be deported to Los Angeles and the president offers him full pardon if the recovers the remote control. Further, he infects Plissken with a virus to force him to accept the mission.

"Escape from L.A." is another entertaining adventure of the anti-hero Snake Plissken by John Carpenter. The storyline is very similar to "Escape from New York" but with different and funny situations and dialogs. The action scenes are excellent, and this sequel is worthwhile watching. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Fuga de Los Angeles" ("Escape from Los Angeles")

Snake, the man with the patch is back doing his thing in what used to be LA and he strolls down what is left of Wilshire Boulevard and takes time to shoot hoops at the Coliseum. Snake, (Kurt Russell) enters into the 9.6-quaked Los Angeles of 2013 in order to retrieve a black box which is a sort of end of the world device. Snake has friends and foes, Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, Stacy Keach, Cliff Robertson and a good actress Pam Grier. There is also plenty of action where Snake dive-bombs a Happy Kingdom theme park. The ending of this film is perfect and I enjoyed this film as much as Escape from New York. John Carpenter & Kurt Russell did a great job in the production and directing. Enjoy

Yes, I thought this movie was a bit better than New York. Not by much mind you, but this one has a much lower score so I know I have chosen the wrong one to like. Snake is back, and Kurt Russell once again really brings life to the character. I am sure even those who did not care for this movie can at least say he did a credible job. The plot is a bit different a bit the same. The president's daughter has joined in with a criminal from LA, which is somehow an island now and a maximum security prison just like New York. America is now ruled by strange laws combining the worst of conservatism and liberalism. Add to that the fact other countries wish to invade the US and are using what the president's daughter has to try and make their plans work. What does she have you ask? Some sort of device that controls satellites that can cut power off to all machines and such. It can do this to any region or even the entire earth. Well once again Snake has been captured and once again he is duped into going into LA and retrieving the data, but not the president's daughter. So off he goes with a cool new outfit and some nice weapons and gadgets and just like the first one things almost immediately. He gets caught a couple of times in this movie, once by a strange bunch of people addicted to plastic surgery. He also has to play a deadly game of basketball and fly off with his "allies" in a strange helicopter. Hell, there is even a crazy surfboard scene with Peter Fonda. The movie is a bit goofy compared to New York, but I rather like the over the top way this movie is done. The effects are hit and miss, the actors are hit and miss and so is the action, but overall I think this movie is rather cool. Of course, I may think that only because Snake is back.

How some top actors agreed to appear in this nonsense is a mystery. Utterly terrible from first frame to last. It's not 'funny bad' or 'so bad it's good' it's just rubbish.

This sequel aims for "high camp" and largely succeeds. Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) stays serious (and in-character), but the world of LA is presented as a very mixed bag. It's both a prison and the last free place on Earth. Satirical stereotypes abound, interspersed with Hollywood in-jokes.

The film makes no attempt to be realistic. No explanation is provided for how the denizens of LA, surrounded by a wide moat, are able to obtain ammunition and gasoline, much less feed themselves.

But it's the rest of the USA that disturbs the most; the country has turned into a theocracy with a President-for-life. "Moral crimes" are a thing. The implication is that Earth has degenerated into various dystopian societies vying with each other for military dominance.

I give this five-and-a-half stars, with a half-star bonus for the evocative Valeria Golino (Hot Shots!) and her black punk-rocker wig (though A. J. Langer gets an honorable mention for frequently showing off her shapely thighs). That's six (6) stars total.

Believe me I have seen some corkers of movies yet this is the worst. I must admit I enjoy some of the clichéd lines from films but this has some of the worst cringing ones, delivered by the terrible(in this film) Kurt Russell('My name's Plissken')also the basketball scene is awful, in fact all the scenes are awful, recently I have been trying to write summaries on some of my favorite films but it has proved extremely hard, as for drivel like this its easy....1/10

In the year 2013, the United States of America has now become a totalitarian theocracy overseen by the President for Life (Cliff Robertson). Anyone who doesn't adhere to the strict moral code of the administration is deported to the island of Los Angeles which after breaking off from the United States in 1997 from a catastrophic flood and earthquake is deemed to be no longer part of the United States and run by various gangs. When the President's daughter, Utopia (A. J. Langer), steals a black box for an experimental new weapon and flees to Los Angeles to Cuervo Jones (Georges Corraface), the leader of Shining Path a hostile faction made of disenfranchise third world nations who oppose America's leadership. With their grip on power threatened, the President gets recent deportee S. D. Bob "Snake" Plissken (Kurt Russell) and offers him full immunity in exchange for retrieving the black box and assassinating Utopia. Plissken initially refuses only to be told he's been infected with the Putoxin Virus that and unless he's given the antidote in 10 hours will suffer complete neurological shut down. Now racing against the clock, Plissken travels to the lawless land of Los Angeles to find the box and Utopia among its wild denizens.

Escape from L. A. is a 1996 sci-fi action film directed by John Carpenter and co-written by Carpenter alongside producer Debra Hill and star Kurt Russell. While Escape from New York had been a massive success in its day and influenced a number of sci-fi and action films, Carpenter had never seriously considered a sequel as he tended to take a dim view of follow-ups after the various sequels made to his own Halloween failed to live up to the critical and commercial success of the original. At the request of longtime friend and frequent collaborator Kurt Russell, the two got together on working on a sequel as Russell had long wanted to play the character again (having a fondness for it as it helped shed his lighthearted Disney image) and taking from his experience living in L. A. and contemporary events like the Northridge Earthquake and 1992 civil unrest, this would lay the foundation for what would become Escape from L. A.. Upon release critical reception was mixed with some like Roger Ebert appreciated the film's bend towards satire while others considered it a rehash of its predecessor. If you go in expecting a sequel like Terminator 2 that expands the concept you're going to be disappointed, but if you go in expecting something more akin to Evil Dead 2 or Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 that's probably the best way to view this movie.

While Escape from New York gritty environments and action beats are undeniably influential and important milestones in genre film history, Escape from New York is also one of those movies that people take more seriously than it actually is. While Carpenter did write the film as a straight action film he also had Nick Castle re-write his script to include more humor such as Ernest Borgnine's character of Cabbie, the exaggerations of 1970s New York, and of course the drag revue set to the darkly comic song "Everyone's Coming to New York". In a way, Escape from L. A. is sort of the opposite of Escape from New York where Escape from New York was a serious action film that had secondary layer of humor/satire, Escape from L. A. has the humor/satire on top of the surface and makes it well known that it's supposed to be a sillier exercise in comparison to the first film.

In terms of being a follow-up to Escape from New York, the film plays itself extremely close to the original (often using similar plotpoints/devices) while also doing a reasonably nice job of making L. A. feel different from this world's version of New York. Keeping itself more in line with the sillier tone, L. A. is very much an exaggeration of contemporary L. A. where it's painted as a land of counter cultural freedom from the oppressive theocratic mainland while also possessing the danger and unpredictability of a wild west town (a move that Carpenter admits to being intentional). Needless to say Russell's Plissken is no less good here than in Escape from New York still possessing that Clint Eastwood like anti-hero appeal and anti-establishment slant of the original. Much like how the President in the prior film took heavy influence from Nixon, the President this time around takes shots at Reagan and Bush making the world a parody of the "moral majority" movement. The movie also features some additional satire like Steve Buscemi's caricature of a sleazy agent, Bruce Campbell's deranged plastic surgeon known as the Surgeon General of Beverly Hills, and Peter Fonda's laid back "surfer dude" who's something of an analogue to Cabbie for the original, but there is one major misstep and it's in having a memorable antagonist from L. A.. Georges Corraface plays Cuervo Jones and after his underwhelming debut in Christopher Columbus: The Discovery he's still very much a stiff and lacks the charisma and menace Isaac Hayes brought as the Duke of New York and while Corraface is handsome and has a Che Guevara like look to him, you just don't buy him as this leader who holds sway over L. A..

Lastly, we come to a major sticking point for many people: the effects work. While upon revisit the effects in Escape from New York definitely show their age, they still look impressive even today and that's in no small part to the absolute dream team of production designer Joe Alves, effects artists Dennis and Robert Skotak, and even DP work by James Cameron who'd take similar visual energy to Terminator and Aliens. With Escape from L. A., the movie utilizes a lot of early 90s CGI for scenes that are way too ambitious for what it can pull off and as a result the movie doesn't look nearly as good as Escape from New York. Some of the matte work is still impressive and there's some good production design (such as a Disneyland knock-off used for the climax) but the effects work is definitely a point against the movie.

Escape from L. A. is the kind of movie that if you can forgive its shortcomings there's actually some pretty solid work on display. While it definitely plays up the satire and humor more in comparison to its grittier predecessor, it's still reasonably well acted (Corraface notwithstanding), there's some solid action beats, and an interesting funhouse mirror take on L. A.. The movie does lack a strong villain on par with the Duke and some of the effects work wasn't even considered good at the time it was made, but provided you're willing to accept an exaggeration on the first film in line with Evil Dead 2 or Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 it delivers.

In 2000, an earthquake measuring 9.6 strikes Los Angeles separating it from the mainland. The moral President for life (Cliff Robertson) declares Los Angeles is no longer part of the United States, and all undesirables are deported to the island. Once deported there, no one ever comes back. It's 2013 and Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is getting deported to L.A. The President's daughter Utopia (A.J. Langer) hijacked Air Force 3 taking a secret package to L.A. She's suspected of running to gang leader Cuervo Jones, and Snake is offered a deal. He has less than 10 hours to live and must retrieve the black box. The girl on the other hand is expendable.

John Carpenter returns with long time contributor Debra Hill and Kurt Russell. This time the L.A. culture is being dissected with surfers and plastic surgery. They are fully embracing the camp. They're having a little bit of fun with Snake. This would be too stupid to take seriously. However if you join them and embrace the camp, this could be an enjoyable film.

This movie is one of the worst movies by John Carpenter. It borrows heavily from the Escape from NY movie without success. The plot is lame and the acting is non-existent. Lets hope there are no more Escape movies.