adminJoel White
At movies
Film: Escape Plan
Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jim Cavazell, Curtis ’50 Cent’ Jackson, Vince Jones, Vincent D’Onofrio, Amy Ryana, Matt Cook, Mike Seal, Feran Taki.
Director: Mikael Hafstrom
Cinema: Eastgate
Running time: 113 minutes
Age restriction: 16 Displaying a degree of graphic violence beyond any other film seen this year but permitting its being seen by 16-year-olds albeit without a smidgen of sexual behaviour or nudity clearly signals the censor board’s repugnance of the sexuality, which has come, in the last ten years, to dominate cinema screens.
It is vital to see this film from its beginning violated repeatedly by Harare audiences because it is only in the first few minutes do we learn that everything Ray Breslin (Stallone age 67 does with an appearance of the most overt criminality is deliberate provocation to smoke out the bad guys.
This is done by the government in placing him charged with serious but totally factious crimes in what must be the cruellest and wicked prison in the world. The reason to find out if the prison is “escape proof”. No one in the prison not the staff or the inmates knows he is a “plant”.
Seeming surprisingly, he confides this fact to another inmate (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger age 66 when he comes to realise that he will need an accomplice if he is to accomplish his mission.
The first hour the audience is exposed to the cruellest and vicious behaviour on the part of the guards who appear always in “black-faced”, which it is thought, will give them the anonymity needed to behave so viciously.
Undoubtedly with an eye to the export market and the first time I’ve seen this done the film depicts the large contingent of Muslim prisoners as clearly the least savage of all in their behaviour.
Only towards the end do we the audience learn the giant step which this film has taken, in showing partiality towards some inmates while simultaneously depicting the American government’s behaviour as being in violation of not only every relevant international edict, but also the Americans’ own, clearly spelled out, code.
Worst of all and only towards the end do we learn that the very existence of this prison violates every conceivable international law albeit the US’ refusal to admit it even exists. Where is the prison? On the open sea in the international waters.
Online Reporter