No Escape (1994)

I relish sci-fi films set in a future that has since passed or which is now just around the corner. When I first watched No Escape, the year in which it takes place - 2022 - seemed like a fair way off; now, it's less than four years away. This sort of thing can make the technology aspect of such films a lot of fun - for example, No Escape features holographic communication (still not a thing) and yet shows computer operators using CRT monitors (no longer a thing).Sadly, the film's sci-fi trappings are quickly discarded as soldier Capt. J.T. Robbins (Ray Liotta), convicted for murdering his commanding officer, is dropped onto the prison island of Absolom. With no electricity on the island, the convicts use low-tech equipment to perform everyday tasks, which means no more unintentional giggles at inaccurate predictions of the future. Instead, we get a lot of sub-par Mad Max-styled action nonsense in which Robbins fights alongside the 'insiders' (the good guys) against the 'outsiders' (the bad guys) led by the nasty Walter Marek (played by Stuart Wilson, whose character has ridiculously good teeth for someone who has been on the island for seven years!).A spot of brutal violence (including an impressively nasty beheading), a couple of reasonable stunts (best being a very high fall into some water), Norma Moriceau's silly costumes (the armour worn by the insiders is decorated with pretty seashells, while one has fashioned himself a Kagemusha style Samurai helmet from bamboo), and a token midget prevent the film from being a total waste of time, but on the whole this is derivative and unexceptional '90s action tosh. Lance Henriksen is totally wasted as The Father, leader of the insiders, who is like a cross between Max Von Sydow in The Ultimate Warrior and Pappagallo from The Road Warrior.

An exceptional opening sequence (fantastic on the big screen) slips into a decent action film with plenty of character, albeit a polished version of familiar territory.Following the establishment of the setting at the futuristic prison and then the island, the cast present themselves one by one. The action is decent and the characters are better than the usual two dimensional parts given in most action flicks, and the actors are also above average in particular the leader of the Outsiders. The effects and designs are good, although it does seem to only just avoid feeling like two gangs kicking the sh*t out of each other on an island. It perhaps lacks a bit of scope, but this is partly addressed with the introduction, some scenes in a control room, the odd helicopter, and the attempted escape sequence.A seemingly substantial amount of futuristic penal colony/prison films were made around this period. Martin Campbell's version is probably the best.

'No Escape' is a B-movie. Fact. It has B-movie written all over it. And that's no bad thing. It never really tries to be anything else. It's about a futuristic world where prisoners are big business for corporations. Unless they don't work. Then they get shipped off to this out of the way island where they can kill each other as much as they like.One such prisoner is Ray Liotta. He may be a convicted murderer, but he did it for just motives, therefore we can root for him. And he bands together with a load of equally supportable prisoners on the island, compared to the other lot – who are basically barbarians. Thus we have our movie – the 'good' (well, just) prisoners, fighting off the 'bad' prisoners on a little island paradise.Our boy Ray's helped out by a variety of other B-movie actors. You'll recognise him from what's-it-called and that bloke out of Aliens, plus the Ghostbuster who joined last. Anyway, it doesn't matter. It's a fun film with plenty of action and rolls along nicely, helped no small part by the baddie. He's great fun – naturally psychotic, but great fun. In than annals of B-movie baddies, Stuart Wilson deserves a mention – sometimes camp, always bonkers and ready to slaughter anyone just to keep control of the psychos under him.Despite its 'B-movie' status, it's actually a little longer than your average 'straight to DVD' flick. Yet it never seems to drag. Basically, if you like action, B-movies with a touch of sci-fi and want something to eat popcorn to, give this one a try. You can pick it up pretty cheaply or even stream it from many a website.Plus, is it just me, or are all the computer terminals straight out of 'Aliens?' It's like No Escape is set in the same universe.

With the future of basic employment being harness to either robotics or Private businesses, it's little wonder we have a movie which purports to predict what prisons are going to look like in the future. This futuristic film leaves little doubt that if a private warden takes the helm of one of these prisons, things are apt to get out of hand. From an audiences' perspective, we can expect a lot from whomever Hollywood chooses as their main star. In this offering, we have impressive Ray Liotta as Capt. J.T. Robbins, a disgraced Special Forces soldier, who's been court martialed and sent to prison for the murder of his commanding officer. However, the Warden of the prison (Michael Lerner, who is almost believably sadistic) decides to ratchet up his punishment by sending him to ' Absolom' a maximum island prison where life is shortened by the extreme brutality allowed. Here Robbins, meets Walter Marek, a brutal prisoner who leads his 'outsiders' with savage force and who tries to force Robbins to submit to his authority which leads to their jungle confrontation. Robbins also meets 'The Father' (Lance Henriksen) the leader of other convicts living apart in a special compound and who've accepted their punishment, but wish to do their time in peace and companionship. Ernie Hudson plays Hawkins, the security officer for their compound. The action/drama is slow to build, but explodes when it does. Plenty of mayhem follows and through some of the sub-plots a forceful and violent movie appears. A good film for Liotta and Hadson and it's ending is surprisingly unexpected. ****