Lockout (2012)

Lockout
Directed by James Mather and Stephen St. Leger

Credit: Open Road Films

I was hoping this movie was great so I could say “Lockout is a Knockout!” It was not to be. Just because it’s not great doesn’t mean its not worth watching though. Not everything has to be a spectacular movie. Lockout is purely dumb fun. Guy Pearce is fun to watch as the typical wise-ass, macho, action hero with an attitude problem. Maggie Grace has never impressed me before but here she holds her own. Peter Stormare, king of the b-movie bad guys, doesn’t get nearly enough to do. He just kind of barks orders.

There isn’t much I can really say about the plot because if you are an action movie fan like I am, then you’ve seen it all here. Nothing in movies is too original these days with all of the sequels and remakes of various shows and movies, so I’ll think of Lockout as being a “love letter” to the 1980′s. There’s a bit of Die Hard, a reference to Aliens, and whole lot of Escape from New York. Actually, to me, it feels more like what Escape from L.A. should have been!

So if you watch Lockout, which I hope you do, don’t think too hard about how ships can arrive in outer space in 30 seconds or why the bad guys can hear people talking yet can’t hear explosions. Just grab a soda and turn your brain off. It’s more fun that way.