Escape from New York (1981) - En route to New York for a critical broadcast, the president's plane is hijacked forcing him to escape via a pod while the plane crashes down in Manhattan. Unfortunately the president's escape pod also comes down in New York City, now a prison of sorts, and with him is a critical message for the broadcast essential to world peace.
In order to save the president, a deal is struck with a convict, an ex-special forces soldier named Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell). He has 24 hours to rescue the president and the message he carries or, as a special incentive to complete his mission, implanted explosives will rupture the arteries in his neck ensuring immediate death.
Escape from New York takes place in the not too distant future of 1997. Well, that was in 1981 when the movie was released, and now it is 20 years in our past. I'm wondering how New Yorkers are feeling about the representation of their city now? Of course the year the movie takes place can be easily overlooked and enjoyed for what it is, but the part that has always bugged me about the movie is this message the president carries is on a cassette tape. I realize the plot of the movie, and the way it ends, hinges on this one element, but it just seems silly to me.
Escape from New York is not entirely original. The main character of Snake Plissken is basically a retread of any of a number of gunslingers from any of a number of Italian westerns. He is a loner, rude, self-centered caring only for himself without a concern for others, and not a particularly chatty fellow. Of course I'm talking about Snake Plissken; didn't mean to confuse you thinking I was still talking about the Italian western gunslinger.
This movie comes at the end of better than a decade rife with post-apocalyptic movies and TV shows including Planet of the Apes, Damnation Alley, Ark II and many others. A post-apocalyptic world, a prison city, and a prison escape are not original to this movie, nor are most of the other elements of this movie culled from blaxploitation movies of the 70s, the aforementioned westerns and prison escape movies.
What Escape from New York does have is a well paced story, more interesting supporting characters than the main character, fantastic art direction, and of course the strength of John Carpenter's direction and composition. Despite its unsympathetic main character and incredibly silly premise it does work and is a lot of fun, in a Saturday morning cartoon sort of way.
I give it 3 Daggers simply for being a fun movie that is well put together.
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