“But it’s supposed to be dumb!” certain audiences cry, when defending whatever dim action movie is causing chatter, which this week is “White House Down.” While we hoped it would qualify as dumb yet awesome, it’s just plain awful, with a self-seriousness that extinguishes whatever fun it might be trying to have with the genre. And yeah, we’d reckon the same applies to this latest offering from Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The first trailer for “Escape Plan” (formerly known as “The Tomb“) is here and it looks fairly insipid. The movie finds Stallone playing Ray Breslin, a security expert who designs inescapable high-tech prisons for a living, only to find himself locked up in one, fighting for his life. His only ally will be Arnie, a hardened inmate looking to get a taste of life on the outside once again. This cinematic wonder comes from Miles Chapman, director of “Road House 2: Last Call,” with Amy Ryan collecting a paycheck (man, she deserves so much better than this), while guys like Jim Caviezel, Vincent D’Onofrio, 50 Cent and Vinnie Jones keep their IMDb page active with this assignment.
Will Stallone get out? Will Arnie have enough one liners? What’s the deal with that goatee? All will be answered on October 18th.