(1/6/2004) "Escape From L.A." is one of the most interesting movies to come along in a long time. Basically a bigger budget remake of the first movie under the guise of being a sequel (kinda like "Evil Dead II" or "Desperado"), a lot of people thought it sucked when it first came out. But, like other John Carpenter/Kurt Russell collaborations, it found a core audience later on down the line.

There are a lot of theories about what "Escape From L.A." is all about: it can be viewed as a straight sequel to "New York", it can be viewed as an attack on government intrusion upon personal freedoms, etc. Personally, I like to think of it as a very subtle satire by John Carpenter & Kurt Russell, based on the Hollywood machine, where the big studios get their hands on a successful independent flick--like, say, "Escape From New York"--and remake it on a huge budget with mixed results.

What I'd really love is for this movie to get the "Big Trouble in Little China" DVD treatment. 2 discs, lots of extras, documentaries and such, and obviously commentary by John Carpenter and Kurt Russell. Their commentaries are always amusing and informative. I'm sure a lot of people out there would also be interested in such a reissue. Unfortunately, getting Paramount to do a special edition DVD of anything that isn't "Star Trek" or "Tomb Raider" is like trying to get Robert De Niro to say "You talkin' to me?" like Travis Bickle.

Interested in buying this? Support Writing.Com by making your purchase of Escape From L.A.   from Amazon.Com!

Created May 05, 2009 at 10:18pm • Submit your own review...