Sécurité maximale

It is the year 2079 and the worst offenders are sentenced to serve their time in stasis aboard the orbiting MS-1 prison. Emilie Warnock, the US president's daughter goes to the facility to investigate claims that stasis damages the prisoners' mental stability. She is allowed to interview one prisoner but things go badly wrong... he disarms her bodyguard, injures her and soon frees the other prisoners. The only thing protecting her is that they don't know who she is. Back on Earth a CIA operative named Snow is being interrogated on suspicion of treason; he is sentenced to thirty years on MS1 but when news of Emilie's situation breaks he is asked to undertake a rescue mission; he isn't keen but the one man who might prove his innocence is also there. Getting in, finding Emilie and getting out safely will not be easy.

This might not be the greatest of films but if you can suspend your disbelief it provides plenty of thrilling action. The plot is basically a version of that used in 'Escape From New York'... so much so that the makers of that film successfully sued for plagiarism; that shouldn't be a problem for the viewer though as is a solid plot device that works in both films. The cast is solid; most obviously Guy Pierce and Maggie Grace as Snow and Emelie. Also notable are Vincent Regan and Joe Gilgun as the leader of the prisoners and his psychotic brother and Lennie James as CIA officer Harry Shaw. The special effects are more the most part really impressive. Overall I'd say this film is definitely worth a watch if you enjoy action is a sci-fi setting.

I really liked Guy Pierce in this film. Without him, it would all have been a weak, implausible action movie. You will see that they knew that when they released Lockout, because all the trailers and teasers are about his character.

Now, the rest of the characters are stuck in casting holes they can't seem to get out of: Maggie Grace is the daughter that needs rescuing, Vincent Regan is a tough guy, Joseph Gilgun is a remorseless psychopath and Peter Stormare is an arrogant prick that turns out to be OK in the end.

Frankly I think they should give more of a chance to Regan. He has the looks and he has the acting skills to do something better than second rate villains. His latest films show him "trending" so I may be right.

Anyway, about the film. It was sort of predictable, especially if you have seen shows with the actors I was talking about, since they all do what they usually do to the dot. The special effects or the science were average, even subpar. The dry humour was nice, but not really enough to lift the film above average, while the backstory was pointless and vague. Bottom line: you might have fun watching it, but it is a forgettable film.

In 2079, in Washington, the ex-CIA Operative Snow (Guy Pearce) is brutally interrogated, accused of treason against the United States. The chief of the secret service Scott Langral (Peter Stormare) believes that he shot the agent Frank in a hotel room.

Meanwhile, the idealistic daughter of the president of the USA, Emilie Warnock (Maggie Grace), is visiting MS One, a maximum security prison in outer space expecting to find evidences that the prisoners are actually guinea pigs of a huge corporation. When one of her bodyguards loses a hidden pistol for the dangerous prisoner Hydell (Joseph Gilgun), he subdues the staff in the central control room and releases the prisoners, including his brother Alex (Vincent Regan) that becomes the leader of the riot.

Now the veteran agent Harry Shaw (Lennie James) offers freedom to Snow if he succeeds in rescuing the president's daughter. But the idealistic Emilie does not want to leave MS-One without the hostages.

"Lockout" is a movie with a well known storyline and nothing new, but also highly entertaining. The story uses the idea of "Escape from New York" and "Escape from L.A" with "No Escape" ("Absolom") and other prison movies. The tough Snow is a cynical and selfish antihero visibly inspired in Snake Plissken and the stubborn Emilie has stupid attitudes, but at least is consistent. The haywire villain Hydell is funny. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sequestro no Espaço" ("Abduction in the Space")

It's fair to say Luc Besson has gotten a bit giddy ever since "Taken." The man who once upon a time brought us "La Femme Nikita" and "Leon: The Professional" has instead taken to lighter action fare, in this case recruiting amateurs James Mather and Stephen St. Leger to help write and direct his "original idea." Exactly—not a "story by" credit, but "original idea."

That's not to say "Lockout" isn't creative, but it's definitely not original. Some might dub it "Taken in space," especially considering it borrows that film's starlet in Maggie Grace, but it's much more akin to "Escape from New York in space." Either way, "Lockout" is another simple- concept action film from Besson, only it has a bigger ego that gets in the way sometimes.

"Lockout" is good for kicks, a fact of which it's very aware. Guy Pearce's Snow, the morally questionable and reluctant hero written so closely to the archetype he almost transcends it, weirdly. He has a sense of humor best described as abundant (though sometimes quite clever), and Pearce plays him especially wry; most actors (think Nicolas Cage) would've hammed it up too much or been unconvincing.

Snow is tasked with rescuing the president's daughter (Grace), who is stuck on a maximum security prison in space that has incurred a major security breach. These are the world's most dangerous criminals, plus they have been in stasis for any number of years, which has made them even nuttier. Joseph Gilgun as Rydell, one of two Scottish prisoners trying to run the uprising, is a particularly deranged fellow reminiscent of a demented Groundskeeper Willie.

Both Rydell and the other main baddie, Alex (Vincent Regan), have a cold-blooded edge that could have made for an effective R-rated ransom thriller reminiscent of late '90s films like Air Force One, but the devil-may-care attitude of the entire movie ultimately clashes with these darker moments, even though they do make you take the movie more seriously than you would otherwise.

After a little bit of context at the beginning to properly motivate Snow, both he and us are effectively shot from a canon. The story only slows down a bit toward the end, but it mostly plays out as a series of dominoes. The action doesn't satisfy so much as the pace and the threat of violence (now here's a good example of how you do PG-13 violence), but it's well done aside from an opening motorcycle sequence shot on green screen and outfitted with an effects job that really shows the budget.

Aside from that, the futuristic sci-fi elements stay pretty classy—nothing overdone or distracting. The gadgets provide some creativity to a number of the sequences and the script manages to inject some unpredictability into a story that could not have a more obvious trajectory.

Despite the self-awareness at points, with a lot of that credit going to Pearce, Lockout tries especially hard to be entertaining on too many fronts, aspiring to be the consummate popcorn flick rather than just identifying one tone and sticking with it. The final scene on the space prison strangely evokes the original "Star Wars" Death Star run, as if to make sure the audience gets to munch on some sci fi/fantasy before the credits roll.

It's hard to fault "Lockout" for aiming to please considering that that spirit seems to be the driving force behind the movie's strengths as well as its weaknesses. Although the number of attempts at humor might catch some folks off guard, "Lockout" offers what anyone interested in the film would expect, if for no other reason than its built upon tons of tropes from previously effective movies. In turn, "Lockout" is effective, but not too much more.

~Steven C

Thanks for reading! Check out moviemusereviews.com

I believe that the enjoyment of a movie is directly proportional among other to your beforehand expectations about it. So with that in mind, let me tell you about this movie; It has a completely unoriginal story, terrible special effects and acting that will never be considered, even in a slow movie year, Oscar wordy. In short it's an action / science fiction that should leave you empty.

Yet, it is not boring, quite the contrary. It has a very special 'Je ne sais quoi' to it. I so wanted to use that in a review for which I want to apologies to you.

I enjoyed it more than most films I have seen this year. Perplexed to explain what makes it unique without spoiling it for you and considering my first sentence, I will say after much reflection, seeing it with very low expectations would be the best. It will allow you from the start to get into the world the directors are painting for you, couple that with a possession of a twisted sense of humor and you will find a gem of a movie in there.

In short, for what it is, it is a gem.