the audience applauded

Admirable film.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The film exults in its imagination of the greater Los Angeles area as a ruined metropolis, with the Santa Monica Freeway well underwater and the Universal Studios theme park beset by real sharks instead of the Spielberg variety. In the action climax, Disneyland--stripped of its familiar branding following a corporate bankruptcy--is invaded from the skies as Plissken drops in, gun blazing. (It's not the movie of a man who's entirely happy with the machinations of Hollywood studios.) Carpenter later said he wanted the scene to be reminiscent of The Wizard of Oz, which figures. With its aggressively whimsical dream logic, the only way this movie really makes sense is if Snake wakes up in Kansas in the final reel.What's memorable are the film's gaudy visions of excess. Escape from L.A. has a brighter and more colorful look than the resolutely dim Escape from New York, which may have been a deliberate decision to embrace a sunny Southern California palette, though I'm guessing it also had something to do with the presence of cinematographer Gary Kibbe, rather than the wizard Dean Cundey, behind the camera. The friendlier look goes conceptually with the picture's more overtly jokey approach.Escape from L.A. is at least partially model-led on westerns-- Plissken is actually described at one point as a "gunfighter"-Pam Grier plays Hershe--it's pronounced like "Hershey," thus it's an insistent play on race as well as gender. See, Hershe is a trans-woman with hairy 'pits and an uncharacteristically deep voice who used to be a buddy of Snake's known as Carjack Malone. When Snake finds her, he gets in close, runs his hand up her thigh to her crotch and declares, "The more things change, the more they stay the same," before intimidating "Carjack" with the gun he found there. When she insists, "I'm no longer Carjack Malone," he hisses in response, "I don't give a f'ck what you are." Yes, Plissken has story reasons for threatening Hershe. But, absent that greater context, the film plays here exactly as though Snake is threatening a hate crime.The surprisingly character-driven script, too, wouldn't fly today. Rather than focus on elaborate set pieces and action sequences, Carpenter, Hill, and Russell give their actors ample time to talk and double-cross each other.The most satisfying payoff of seeing Escape From L.A. today is in realizing that 1996 imagined 2013 so as to fantasize about regressing.

At times 'Escape From L.A.' feels more like a parody of 'Escape From New York' than a sequel, and it's clear that Carpenter was going for more of a satire vibe here; A satire of (then) current political culture. A satire of big budget Hollywood action movies. A satire of Southern California culture. The problem is that it overwhelms the entire movie, and everything else feels like an afterthought to his quest to zing his targets.There are still a few worthwhile moments tucked in amongst all of the flotsam and jetsam, and Kurt Russell doesn't miss a beat after a fifteen year absence from the role of Snake Plissken, but it's just not enough to save this well-intended misfire.

Seriously, if your a fan of 'Escape From New York', you shouldn't be disappointed with this terrific installment. My only sadness is that it didn't seem to do well at the box office which is a crying shame as this movie had it all and was very SNAKE.If your a fan of the legendary 'Snake Plissken' your going to love this movie. It's terrific and I wish there could have been at least one more movie to provide a trilogy to the Snake Plissken saga. Alas with the barely scraped back budget I doubt that's ever going to be a possibility.To conclude this is a movie for fans, it's not a movie for winning Oscar's or achieving amazing accolades in special effects etc, it's a down and gritty 80's style film, which is at the core of the Snake character.For those who are not aware there was a Snake Plissken comic book(which I of course own)that got a single issue. It's worth while reading if your a fan too. (Just trying to assist fans as sadly Snake is constantly overlooked and I'm certain Marvel would do well to bring him back to the big screen today. Kurt Russell could still play Snake without blinking an eye lid(that's a single eye lid, you have to have the patch). Fingers crossed John and Kurt could work together again.The most underrated anti-hero in existence has to go to Snake Plissken.JUST REMEMBER TO CALL HIM 'SNAKE'!!!!

John Carpenter's totally unnecessary sequel to his classic Escape From New York. It's really just a retread of that movie with a very similar plot, similar characters, lines, situations, etc. The biggest differences being now there's a lot more campy humor and some very poor CGI. Also the supporting cast is nowhere near as good and, unlike the first movie, everybody seems very aware that they are in a sequel to a popular movie and play it up as such. It's likable enough and watchable. This is mostly due to Kurt Russell's screen presence and the little Carpenterisms sprinkled throughout. But it's not a patch on the original and ultimately there's not a lot to recommend about it to anybody who isn't a die-hard Carpenter fan.