Many years ago, the movie Escape From New York became the target of cheap ridicule. Too bad. It's actually a fairly good film. Compared to a clone production like No Escape, the John Carpenter original looks like a masterpiece.
No Escape borrows from everyone, but it has no idea what to do with all of the material that it's shamelessly stolen. Along with pieces of Escape From New York, you get a dash of Lord of the Flies, huge heapings of stuff from all of the Mad Max movies and a bit of Robinson Crusoe on the side. This flick didn't have a screenplay, it had a collage.
Ray Liotta (Good Fellas) plays a Special Forces officer in the year 2022, who has a slight problem with accepting authority. Presumably, that's why he kills his commanding officer, He's sentenced for life to the island penal colony of Absalom (whoa, some symbolism here). The island is divided between the primitive and violent Outsiders and the civilized and peaceful Insiders, the latter of whom are led by a benevolent figure called Father (get Freud on the phone right now).
No Escape has enough violence for 10 movies, but it's surprisingly dull, nonetheless. Casting choices don't improve the situation any: B-movie bad guy Lance Hendriksen is an odd choice for Father, while Stuart Wilson (Lethal Weapon III)plays the evil chief of the Outsiders as if he shops for clothes at a Klingon boutique. Incidentally, even the wardrobe in this movie is derived from somewhere else.
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