![]() During the 80s, it seemed that Carpenter was working at his highest capacity. Carpenter, but those are his most known works. From Assault on Precinct 13, Halloween, The Fog (which I wasn't that high on), The Thing (one of my favorite horror movies of all time), Christine, Big Trouble in Little China (which I greatly enjoyed) and They Live (another movie I really fucking liked). Let's be honest here, from 76-88, John Carpenter was a pretty high quality genre filmmaker. You know, I've reviewed a few John Carpenter movies on here and they've all been movies that I've enjoyed, with the minor exception of The Ward. And most of all, I just didn't care for any of the characters or the story they were in. Donald Pleasance doesn't get much to do, and neither does anybody in a supporting role. It's not the fault of the film, but I've seen plenty that are better since. Of course, these aren't necessarily the film's fault, but sometimes the reach shouldn't exceed the grasp by that much of a margin. That and the green screen effects were difficult to watch. I think a lot of my frustration comes from the fact that this film was made close to 40 years ago, and therefore, there's plenty of dated qualities to it. Though, I will say Carpenter's original score made for this film is brilliant. I think Carpenter is a masterful director, but Escape From New York felt kind of like a cheap side project for him. Those are two opposing tones butting heads, and you never get a grasp on the type of film John Carpenter wants to make. On one hand, you have Plissken taking on dozens of criminals who look like they are wearing Mad Max cosplay, but then you have the issue of the President's life being on the line. It's one thing if the film embraces its silliness and makes all of the dialogue, action, and performances cheesy, but they don't. ![]() Even in criminals past references, they never mentioned anything specifically which would warrant him a spot to save the President. ![]() The weirdest part, however, is we never get to see him to anything of value. ![]() Apparently Plissken is like the boogeyman for these Manhattan criminals, since they all know who he is but didn't seem to know he actually existed or where he's been. Manhattan is now a security prison for criminals of all variety and after the President crash lands in the middle of the city, Plissken is hired to rescue him. Snake Plissken is known as one of the most iconic sci-fi characters in film history, but why? Kurt Russell is a fine actor in just about everything he does, but Escape From New York never gives him anything to do besides hold a gun which he uses maybe once the entire film? It's safe to say I wasn't impressed with this film. ![]()
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