Escape Plan was panned by the critics, but normal people seem to like it. And they should: the movie is just plain fun, start to finish. The very entertaining story presses on without much regard for total believability or tying up technical loose-ends, but I must say the dialog is not half bad (it’s more satisfying than a lot of modern indie crap, frankly,) and the narrative is paced well and evolves in surprising ways. I have never been a fan of either leading actor, but I thought both Stallone and Schwarzenegger turned in warm and compelling performances (for Schwarzenegger, clearly the best of his career,) and they had a nice, easy chemistry together. It’s a pretty violent film, but the violence was all integrated into the story in a meaningful way. The last film of this kind that I enjoyed this much was Taken (2008.)

Let me be clear: the critics don’t like Escape Plan because deep down it’s a very subversive movie. I’m not saying it’s super deep on any of the following topics, but it manages to be anti-privatization, anti-torture, anti-unaccountability, anti-CIA, anti-off-the-grid, anti-shadow-world, anti-goodguys-in-black-masks-with-automatic-weapons, anti-greed, anti-rich-people, and anti-international-finance. That list is downright un-American! We’re supposed to be in love with all that fucking shit. This dumb little Stallone-Schwarzenegger action film actually turns out to have a lot of balls. When was the last time you heard the name “Blackwater” mentioned in a movie? Never, that’s when. Yet there it is, as a source for the insane assholes running the prison they’re stuck in. Escape Plan even contains a positive portrayal of Muslims and the Muslim religion – indeed, the Muslim guy who is their third partner in the escape is a kind, human and heroic character.

With this spectrum of unthinkable ideas floating around in Escape Plan, it’s obvious that there will never be an Escape Plan 2. But there should be. In the end, Stallone and Schwarzenegger turned out to be a really great team, and they picked quite a good script. Let’s hope they do more work together in the future.

I definitely recommend Escape Plan. It seems to be hanging on at the horrible “E-Woc” theater in Times Square – catch it while it lasts.