Take a Groovy Trip to Space Jail with Luc Besson's Wildly Derivative Escape From New York Knock-Off Lockout — It Turns Out the Naming Rights! Membership Option Was For Real and Someone Is Now Five Hundred Bucks Poorer Presents Nat

Welcome, friends, to the latest entry in Control Nathan Rabin 4.0. It’s the career and site-sustaining column that gives YOU, the kindly, Christ-like, unbelievably sexy Nathan Rabin’s Happy Place patron, an opportunity to choose a movie that I must watch, and then write about, in exchange for a one-time, one hundred dollar pledge to the site’s Patreon account. The price goes down to seventy-five dollars for all subsequent choices.

In an ironic turn of events, Luc Besson has an “Original idea by” credit for 2012’s Lockout rather a Story credit. Alas, the original idea for Lockout actually originated inside the minds of John Carpenter, Nick Castle, Debra Hill and Kurt Russell when they wrote the screenplays for 1981’s Escape From New York and its 1996 sequel Escape from L.A. respectively.

In 2015 Carpenter sued Besson for plagiarism and won. Besson appealed and the modest judgment was then increased substantially. Of course nothing is truly original. Everything’s derivative of something else on some level so a movie has to be shameless in its blatant and unapologetic thievery for lawyers to enter the equation and financial punishments awarded.

If the old maxim, often if erroneously attributed to Pablo Picasso, that good artists borrow, while great artists steal is true, then Lockout is a work of true greatness. Besson had an original idea, alright. That original idea was “Escape from New York—but in space!”

That ended up being a good if decidedly less than original conceit. It seems miserly for Besson to not credit a God like Carpenter for borrowing so extensively from his films when his larceny could not be more blatant.

True, in Escape from New York a wisecracking badass stranded in a prison city must save the President while in Lockout a wisecracking badass must save the President’s daughter stranded in a prison space jail but it’s the same general idea.

In Lockout dependable Guy Pearce stars as the aforementioned badass, a real Snakeskin Plissken with a quip for every occasion. When he’s asked to travel to Space Jail to save the President’s daughter from five hundred recently awakened rapists, murderers and other scum of the earth he’s as nonchalant about the assignment as a college kid asked to open a video store on Sunday because the manager’s hungover.

I’ve always liked Pearce but whenever I see him in something I assume that three or four more exciting and popular actors passed on it. I feel the same way about Ewen MacGregor, who I also like.

I’ve underrated and overlooked Pearce and his prodigious gifts because he’s a true chameleon who disappears inside roles and can play a dazzling array of different characters instead of playing the same kind of character in film after film.

Pearce isn’t the first guy you’d think of when casting a Kurt Russell-like lovable scoundrel in Escape from New York in Outer Space but he does a phenomenal job as a deadpan joker who never cracks a sweat or seems even mildly concerned no matter how dangerous and dire things get.

Pearce may be a character actor who has played his share of lead roles but in Lockout he delivers a real star turn overflowing with confidence, humor and understated charisma.

In Lockout Pearce plays Marion Snow, a CIA operative who is framed and ends up facing a lengthy prison sentence. The wisenheimer with no respect for authority is offered freedom if he succeeds in rescuing Emilie Warnock, (Maggie Grace) the President’s daughter, after she’s taken hostage during a humanitarian trip.

At Space Jail, which I am choosing to capitalize and repeat as often as possible for obvious reasons, violent criminals are held in a state of stasis, asleep and oblivious to the world around them.

The bleeding heart presidential progeny is concerned about the possible damage long stretches in suspended animation will have on prisoner’s minds and bodies. She suffers for her idealism when a prisoner breaks free and grabs a gun. The President’s daughter and her entourage are held hostage by prisoners who awaken their slumbering brethren so that they can wreak havoc anew.

Lockout doesn’t do much to differentiate its space prisoners. It focusses monomaniacally on a pair of Irish brothers, one a wild-eyed maniac/wildcard/rapist and the other a steely-eyed leader but otherwise gives their fellow prisoners the short shrift.

If you’re going to steal so extensively and directly why not steal from other films as well? There’s no reason Lockout can’t be Con Air in Outer Space in addition to being Escape From New York in Space.

The villainous brothers behind the prison break are perfectly acceptable but this would benefit from the addition of larger than life character actors. If I were Vinnie Jones and I watched this on an airplane I would be annoyed that I was not in it.

Marion, as he’s only known at the end for understandable reasons, doesn’t have much of a problem getting to Emilie, freeing her and then disguising her appearance so that she doesn’t stand out as an oasis of sweet-smelling femininity in a vast outer space desert of recently unthawed brutes.

Marion and Emilie have a real Han Solo/Princess Leia dynamic. He’s a rough around the edges survivor whose sarcastic exterior and facade of aloof cynicism mask an idealistic core while she’s a smart-mouthed child of privilege thrust into a wild and dangerous adventure.

Pearce and Grace have good chemistry and surprisingly crackling banter. Pearce is all about snappy answers to stupid questions here. He wields sarcasm like a switchblade and is never flustered, no matter how dodgy things get around him.

Pearce is an unusual choice for the lead role because he’s an actor rather than an action star and because, in a realm of muscle-bound Helmsworths, he’s of average height and unassuming.

Pearce makes for a surprisingly slick and strong action star all the same, making up in attitude for what he lacks in size. Lockout realizes the tremendous camp value in remaking Escape from New York in outer space. It’s not art but it’s nifty crackerjack entertainment executed with a sure hand and light touch.

I invite you to leave this dreary planet behind and take a trip with your mind and your imagination to Space Jail with Lockout. If you’re in the right frame of mind, (stoned) and have appropriately modest expectations you should have a good time.

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