Escape Plan

As implausible macho nonsense goes, it's surprisingly good.

The most surprising thing about this movie, outside of its length, is just how unsurprising it really is, especially regarding its tired climax.

This functional thumper generally gets the job done, plodding merrily, if unremarkably, through the generic set pieces, making a passable fist of well-worn material.

In a glorious moment of unified defiance, Stallone and Schwarzenegger look directly at the camera and raise a middle finger at anyone assuming that time has run out on these two aging heavyweights.

Escape Plan is the newest vehicle for aging action stars Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger and, in this case, it's a lemon or possibly an Edsel.

Stallone spoils the dumb-fun mood. He wears the stoical gaze of someone who knows he's being buried alive.

Overall, it's fun, it's cheesy, it's chaotic and it's good. You gotta love these guys together.

After the finale degrades into a violent shootout and leaves us dissatisfied, not even solid portrayals by Stallone and Schwarzenegger make Escape Plan anything beyond a very, very guilty piece of actionized entertainment.

You’ll have to accept its absurdity and understand that there are several questions you’ll never get sufficient answers for.

The problem is that everything else, including characterizations, motivations, humor, a sense of place and a point of view - all the things that are a part of a complete and balanced feature - is empty and mind-numbing...