Friday, July 20, 2012

REVIEW - Lockout

I like Guy Pearce. Mrs Page does not. And the reason is the same. He makes edgy (Mrs P calls them "weird") movies.

There you have it.

But I could have made my case more easily if this was a standout film, weird or otherwise.

Set in 2075, Pearce is a prisoner framed for espionage against the USA, but offered the opportunity for freedom if he rescues the president's daughter who is being held hostage at a prison in space.

As I typed that sentence, I realized the plot sounded far-fetched, even stupid.

Anyhow, in an all too familiar example of racial stereotyping, the first two prisoners broken out of suspended animation just happen to be nutters, and Glaswegians!!

Meanwhile, Pearce is whisked via space shuttle - that's handily already gunning its engines on the launchpad - to the most expensive prison in the universe.

Aside from the many, many questions raised during this film, most of which concerned the illogicality of much of the story, one that stood out for me was "how can they have so much shooting, and so many explosions, on a spacecraft?"

And another, general observation: this film uses other lapses in physics not seen since the Flash Gordon TV episodes from the 1950s.

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