Directed by: James Mather, Stephen St. Leger
Starring: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace, Peter Stormare, Vincent Regan, Joseph Gilgun
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Distributed by: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: July 17, 2012
Running Time: 95 minutes
Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars
When you see the name Luc Besson attached to a movie, you usually know you are in for a treat. He knows action (“The Transporter”) and sci-fi (“The Fifth Element”), “Lockout” is a great combination of the both with even some great humor thrown in. The film was done on a relative low budget of $20 million but when you look at it it should have cost at least $90 million. I have no idea how Adam Sandler’s terrible comedies cost over $80 million for each film. The visual effects in this film are over-the-top, fun and feel straight out of video game…especially the car chase in the beginning. On the box the film is labeled as “Die Hard meets Blade Runner,” but I really couldn’t stop thinking to myself it really felt like remake of “Escape from New York”, which is not a bad thing. Overall this is a real fun time for all sci-fi fans.
The film follows, Snow, a man convicted of wrongfully committing espionage against the U.S. but is offered his freedom if he can rescue the president’s daughter from an outer space prison taken over by violent inmates. Doesn’t that sound cool enough? Of course normally action/sci-fi slow down after the opening scene but that is not the case with this film at all. This film is literally a 95 minute non-stop roller coaster. Guy Pearce was awesome in this film and kicks some major ass. Maggie Grace…well…she could have stayed on the island in “Lost” but at least they are fun and snarky together. The only question I have is what is the deal with the Unrated Edition? The film was 95 minutes in theaters and 95 minutes with the Unrated cut, I guess there was not much left to put back in.
If you thought the movie was kick-ass enough, the Blu-ray presentation is even better. “Lockout” looks absolutely fantastic on Blu-ray. It’s 1080p transfer really delivers especially since most of the film is very dreary and dark. To accompany the perfect video transfer, the Dolby DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio track is out-of-this-world (get it?). Since the film is 95 minutes non-stop ride, this audio track really gets pushed to the limits and succeeds well. This release also includes a streaming Ultraviolet digital copy, which is yet another plus. Though then we come to the special features, which basically are a let down. There are only two short featurettes and nothing else. The first is “Breaking Into Lockout” is features cast and crew chatting about their characters and the production, typical. “A Vision of the Future” is a cool look into the films futuristic look and feel. Despite the lack of extras, this is still a great film and an awesome Blu-ray.