(2012) 2 Jeremy Wheeler It doesn't take a Ph.D. to figure out the key to a Luc Besson premise -- team one gruff-talkin' hero with a sassy female love interest, and all you need to do is change the surroundings. With Lockout, Besson's original story idea reshapes his time-honored setup into an Escape From New York knockoff, only changing the setting to outer space and beating John Carpenter's rumored "Escape From Space" sequel idea to the punch. None of this warrants too much ill will, mind you, since the French movie baron's Europa Corp. is known for consistently producing semi-decent flicks for open-armed genre audiences -- aping beloved films while sticking to well-worn shtick is within the realm of B-movie acceptability. As it so happens, Lockout has less in common with B-movie theatrical films than with straight-to-video sci-fi. There's a lot that's "almost" with Lockout: Guy Pearce's character Snow -- a wrongly incarcerated man sent to a prison colony in space to save the president's daughter (Maggie Grace) -- is a wiseass whose joke-a-minute lines fall flat more than they hit. Pearce is game to sell each quip, which adds a bit of fun to the proceedings, yet there's no denying the lameness of the forced banter. Effects-wise, the film is just a mess, with decent visuals positioned right next to shockingly bad work that makes you wonder if the production had anyone with half a brain signing off on the finished product. In the directing department, co-helmers James Mather and Stephen Saint Leger keep things moving at a brisk rate, even if the two editors (Eamonn Power and Camille Delamarre) unfortunately go the frantic route with the action scenes. There's more to discuss, such as Joe Gilgun's indecipherable dialogue as the prison nutcase Hydell or the obvious editing that was done to temper the violence for a PG-13 rating, yet one can only knock this flick so much. For lovers of junk cinema, all of Lockout's downsides can easily add up to a silly viewing experience if seen with like-minded pals. That's not to say the film is good -- many will walk away thoroughly disappointed, but so it goes. One thing is for sure: Luc Besson will live to produce more films in his particular mold…and odds are pretty good that most of them will be a lot better than Lockout.

Lockout on AllMovie

Lockout (2012)

rate it

Watch Trailer

editor rating

user rating

mpaa rating

flags

Profanity
Sexual Situations
Violence

genres

Science Fiction

sub-genres

category

Feature

alternate title

MS One: Maximum Security

directed by

countries

France

release date

April 13, 2012 (USA - Limited)

run time

95 min.

produced by

Canal +, Cine+, Europa Corp.

released by

FilmDistrict

Submit corrections

by Jason Buchanan synopsis

The U.S. government strong-arms a man accused of treason into rescuing the president's daughter from a maximum-security space prison that's been taken over by the inmates in a brutal riot. Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, and Peter Stormare star.

moods

Other Dimensions

themes

Heroic Mission

Lone Wolves

Race Against Time

keywords

space-station

prison

related movies

HEROIC MISSION

All Movie

Lockout on AllMovie

characteristics

moods

themes

keywords

related movies

All Movie

by list

by mood

by genre

Lockout on AllMovie

characteristics

moods

themes

keywords

related movies