ESCAPE PLAN

 

Prison Break meets The Expendables. Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger work together as a mumbling, droopy-eyed escape artist-cum-protagonist and a hulking, silver-haired Austrian crook - not much of a change apart from the professions. The high-tech panopticon in which they find themselves imprisoned is an impressive technical feat, though the eponymous escape plan is a fairly nuts-and-bolts affair. Occasionally conveniently placed monitors prevent otherwise observant guards from keeping an eye on more than one character simultaneously. Vinnie Jones appears as a generically sadistic prison guard; Jim Caviezel fares better as primary antagonist Warden Hobbs, indelibly chewing scenery with his incuriously menacing delivery. It's a treat just watching him pick lint off his suit. 50 Cent is weak as a genius computer hacker - the line "Sleepy-time, motherf***ker" becomes unintentionally hilarious in his hands - and Vincent D'Onofrio is wasted as Stallone's slimy employer. Sam Neill too deserves better as the prison's conscience-troubled physician. Lightly amusing and solidly put together by director Mikael Hafström. Serviceable. 5.5